• The court did not hold the contribution limitations had to meet strict scrutiny
  • interesting because first amendment restrictions normally have to meet strict scrutiny.
• The court allowed restrictions on soft raised by political parties on behalf of specific candidates but rejected any limits on issue spending
• The court allowed limitations on broadcast ads by unions and corporations 30 days before primaries and 60 days before general elections.
• The court did not allow for limitations on contributions by those under 17.
• The court denied increasing the contribution limits for wealthy candidates that spend a large portion of their own money.
• Broadcasters keep a public record of all politically related broadcasts
• The Court held that ads had to be unequivocal in supporting a specific candidate to be banned under campaign laws.

Main Ideas

Soft Money

Background

The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) limits contributions that individuals and political action committees (PACs) can make to support candidates for federal office.

The FECA forbids limits on funding campaign materials for volunteer activities promoting party building, such as advertising.

Definition

Soft money (sometimes called non-federal money) means contributions made outside the limits and prohibitions of federal law.

1. “Non-Federal Money”

Money outside the regulation of the federal government because it’s not contributed directly to a candidate but instead to a party committee for general overhead expenses and shared expenses that benefit both federal and non-federal elections, even if they indirectly benefit federal candidates.