Campaign Finance Reform

1
Campaign Finance Reform

• By Mary Dannevik

2
History

• 1971 Federal Election Campaign Act
• 1974 Amendments were made to the FECA and the
  Federal Election Commission was established
• 1976 Buckley vs. Valeo

3
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)

• Proposed in 2001 by Senators John McCain (R-Ariz)
  and Russ Feingold (D-Wis)
• Signed into law on 3/27/02 by George W. Bush
• Banned all soft money contributions, but doubled
  the limit on contributions of hard money
• Soft money unlimited campaign contributions to
  political parties, not subject to federal
  election laws
• Hard money limited contributions to specific
  candidates
• Banned ads that mention a specific candidate just
  prior to an election

4
Soft money at a glance
5
Soft money at a glance
6
Soft money at a glance
7
Soft money at a glance
8
Total Raised by Parties

• 2002
• Dem. - 463,312,470
• Rep. - 691,646,873
• Difference of 228,334,403
• 2004
• Dem. - 730,935,853
• Rep. - 892,792,542
• Difference of 161,856,689
• 2006
• Dem. - 599,670,996
• Rep. - 707,164,475
• Difference of 107,493,479

9
BCRA Controversy

• Lawsuits issue ad restrictions are
  unconstitutional limit on free speech ban on
  soft money would weaken political parties and
  strengthen special interest groups
• Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
• National Rifle Association (NRA)
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• American Federation of Labor and Congress of
  Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)

10
BCRA Supreme Court Decisions

• McConnell v. FEC December 2003, 5-4 decision
  upheld all major provisions of BCRA
• Parties and candidates are banned from
  soliciting, receiving and using soft money
• Increased contribution limits (adjusted for
  inflation) on hard money
• Issue ad restrictions upheld cannot mention a
  candidates name within 30 or 60 days of an
  primary or general election
• NRA, ACLU, AFL-CIO and Chamber of Commerce
  lawsuits Issue ad restrictions expanded no
  issue ads mentioning a candidates name
  whatsoever

11
Works Cited

• Dominguez, C., Pearson, K. Big Dollars, But How
  Much Change? A Comparison of Soft Money Donors
  Pre- and Post-BCRA. Paper presented at the
  annual meeting of the The Midwest Political
  Science Association, Palmer House Hilton,
  Chicago, Illinois, 2005- 04- 07 Online. Retrieved
  November 4, 2007, from Political Research
  Online.
• Grant, A. (2004, April). Reforming American
  Election Campaign Finance. Political Quarterly,
  75(2), 132-141. Retrieved October 1, 2007, from
  Academic Search Premier database.
• The Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved
  November 4, 2007 from www.opensecrets.org.
• United States Supreme Court. Retrieved November
  9, 2007, from http//www.supremecourtus.gov/bcra/
  02-1674supp_app_volume_i.pdf