Essay about Campaign Finance Reform - 2666 Words

Campaign finance reform has a broad history in America. In particular, campaign finance has developed extensively in the past forty years, as the courts have attempted to create federal elections that best sustain the ideals of a representative democracy. In the most recent Supreme Court decision concerning campaign finance, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Court essentially decided to treat corporations like individuals by allowing corporations to spend money on federal elections through unlimited independent expenditures. In order to understand how the Supreme Court justified this decision, however, the history of campaign finance in regards to individuals must be examined. At the crux of these campaign finance laws†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, these laws are particularly important because they deal with discussion of public issues and debate on the qualifications of candidates. This sort of speech allows citizens to make an informed decision abou t which candidate they will elect. This is crucial to the operation of the government, for those who are elected will shape the nation in a profound way. As legal scholar Alexander Meiklejohn argued when explaining the necessity of protecting political speech, â€Å"self-governance can only exist insofar as the voters acquire the intelligence, integrity, sensitivity, and generous devotion to the general welfare that, in theory, casting a ballot is assumed to express.† For these reasons, the ability to spend money on elections is essential to the First Amendment, as it allows for the communication of ideas and opinions that are crucial to democracy. The need to protect this first amendment right, however, is balanced against the need to avoid corruption in federal elections. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) attempted to revamp the structure of campaign finance, particularly dealing with eliminate corrupt uses of campaign contributions. Money in the form of a contribution can easily be seen as a bribe, or an attempt to influence a candidate in the contributor’s favor. FECA requiredShow MoreRelatedCampaign Finance Reform Essay454 Words   |  2 PagesCampaign Finance Reform Campaign finance issues are complicated in the United States by the fact that the funding sources of the Republican and Democratic parties differ so sharply. As a result, any reforms intended to affect one kind of funding are likely to adversely and disproportionately affect one of the two parties. Furthermore, while most issues on which elected officials decide concern benefits for constituents. Campaign finance reform involves changing an institution that benefitsRead MoreCampaign Finance Reform Essay3020 Words   |  13 Pagestheir campaign. 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Politics involves money for it is the way to make campaign possible that is why there are campaign managers and campaign funds to whoever will run for any officeRead MoreThe First Step Towards Lasting Campaign Finance Reform2697 Words   |  11 PagesFinal Paper: The First Step Towards Lasting Campaign Finance Reform â€Å"You don t put vote Bartlet in the ad, you can pay for it with unmarked bills from a bank heist if you want to.† - Bruno Gianelli (Fictional character, The West Wing, S03E06, â€Å"Gone Quiet†)1 Debates about the just and proper financing of campaigns for public office can be traced as far back as the Federalist Papers. On one side are those that believe any restriction in the frequency or amount of individual, corporate orRead MoreCampaign Finance Reform Essay782 Words   |  4 PagesCampaign Finance Reform Effective election campaigns have always relied on the candidates’ ability to raise money. 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During the 1995-96 elections, public citizens estimated that an astounding 150 million dollars was spent on phony issue ads designed to support or oppose congressional and presidentialRead MoreCampaign Finance Reform Should Be Restricted And Monitored1780 Words   |  8 PagesIn American society, campaign finance reform is continuously a topic of discussion. This year’s 2016 election will be the most expensive campaign with presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton is running for office. By this coming November, campaign spending for all candidates spending for all candidates who ran in this year’s election will be an estimated total of 4.4 billion dollars (â€Å"Do We Re ally Need†). For campaign finance to experience reform, we must first acknowledge that the