43. Are there limits on the amount that third parties can spend on election campaign activities?

2010 Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. FEC , 558 US 50 (2010). The Federal Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled in SpeechNow (Speechnow.org v. FEC, US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, No. 08-5223 (2010)) that contributions to groups that only make outside spending cannot be limited in the size and source of contributions.

Corporations and labour unions have a constitutionally protected right to make unlimited ‘outside spending,’ independent of candidates and political parties, that explicitly advocate for or against the election of a candidate. In order to be considered independent, outside spending must not be co-ordinated with a candidate or a political party.

OSCE/ODIHR (2012), United States of America, General Elections, 6 November 2012.  OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission Report. OSCE/ODIHR, Warsaw