Looking Ahead
This must be an election year! Political advertising by corporations and unions, including the work of well-known "Super PACs", reached a zenith in the Republican primaries. Many will remember that this new expression of First Amendment free speech was upheld in the controversial 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission. Under this court ruling, there are generally three types of political communications that corporations may now finance: issue advocacy, independent expenditures (which expressly advocate the election or defeat of a particular candidate), and electioneering communications (broadcast communications that refer to a candidate within 30 days of a primary election, or 60 days of a general election). For more information regarding this new era of corporate involvement in political campaigns, see the accompanying article published in Bloomberg Law Reports by my colleagues in Washington by clicking here. |
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