Federal judge strikes down Montana campaign finance law News
Federal judge strikes down Montana campaign finance law
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[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Montana [official website] on Wednesday ruled [order, PDF] that a state law [MCA § 13-37-216] that limits campaign contributions violates the free speech clause of the First Amendment [Cornell LII backgrounder]. Montana’s campaign finance law limits the individual contributions to gubernatorial and lieutenant governor candidates to $500 and contributions to candidates for other statewide offices to $250. Judge Charles Lovell held that the law unconstitutionally prevents both candidates and potential donors from being able to wage an effective political campaign:

[T]he Court concludes that Montana’s contribution limits in Montana Code Annotated Section 13-37-216 are unconstitutional under the First Amendment. … The contribution limits prevent candidates from amassing the resources necessary for effective campaign advocacy. … The defendants are therefore permanently enjoined from enforcing these limits.

Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock plans to appeal the decision to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official websites].

In June the US Supreme Court [official website] struck down [JURIST report] Montana’s century-old campaign finance law known as the 1912 Corrupt Practices Act [PPL backgrounder] as invalid under the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission [JURIST report]. The Supreme Court’s decision overturned a ruling [JURIST report] by the Montana Supreme Court [official website] that upheld the Corrupt Practices Act.

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