Campaign Finance Law: The Supreme Court Upholds Key Provisions of BCRA in McConnell v. FEC

Publication Date: December 2003

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Research Area: Politics

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Abstract:

In its most comprehensive campaign finance ruling since Buckley v. Valeo in 1976, on December 10, 2003, in McConnell v. FEC, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld against facial constitutional challenges key portions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), (P.L. 107-155, commonly known as the McCain-Feingold or ShaysMeehan campaign finance reform law). A 5 to 4 majority of the Court upheld restrictions on the raising and spending of previously unregulated political party soft money and a prohibition on corporations and labor unions using treasury funds to finance "electioneering communications," requiring that such ads may only be paid for with corporate and labor union political action committee (PAC) funds. The Court invalidated BCRA's requirement that parties choose between making independent expenditures or coordinated expenditures on behalf of a candidate and its prohibition on minors age 17 and under making campaign contributions.