Buckley v. Valeo

The Court upheld campaign contribution limits but struck limits on campaign spending as restraints on speech.

Overview

After Watergate, Congress imposed limits on contributions, spending, and public financing of elections. The Court, in a lengthy decision, held that campaign spending is core political speech, so expenditures by candidates and others cannot be capped, while contribution limits are permissible to prevent corruption and the appearance of corruption. The decision created the architecture of the modern campaign finance regime: unlimited spending alongside limited contributions, fueling the rise of political action committees and independent expenditure vehicles. Buckley remains the framework under which Citizens United and later cases operated.