1st Amendment Violation – Political Contribution Limits

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United States Supreme Court

Case Name: David Thompson, et al. v. Heather Hebdon, et al. 

Case No.: 19-122

Focus: 1^st Amendment Violation – Political Contribution Limits

Alaska law limits the amount an individual can contribute to a candidate for political office, or to an election oriented group other than a political party, to $500 per year. Alaska Stat. §15.13.070(b)(1) (2018). Petitioners Aaron Downing and Jim Crawford are Alaska residents. In 2015, they contributed the maximum amounts permitted under Alaska law to candidates or groups of their choice, but wanted to contribute more. They sued members of the Alaska Public Offices Commission, contending that Alaska’s individual-to-candidate and individual-to-group contribution limits violate the First Amendment.

The Ninth Circuit declined to apply our precedent in Randall v. Sorrell, 548 U. S. 230 (2006), the last time we considered a non-aggregate contribution limit. See 909 F. 3d, at 1037, n. 5. In Randall, we invalidated a Vermont law that limited individual contributions on a per-election basis to: $400 to a candidate for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or other statewide office; $300 to a candidate for state senator; and $200 to a candidate for state representative. JUSTICE BREYER’s opinion for the plurality observed that “contribution limits that are too low can . . . harm the electoral process by preventing challengers from mounting effective campaigns against incumbent officeholders, thereby reducing democratic accountability.” 548 U. S., at 248–249; see also id., at 264–265 (Kennedy, J., concurring in judgment) (agreeing that Vermont’s contribution limits violated the First Amendment); id., at 265–273 (THOMAS, J., joined by Scalia, J., concurring in judgment) (agreeing that Vermont’s contribution limits violated the First Amendment while arguing that such limits should be subject to strict scrutiny). A contribution limit that is too low can therefore “prove an obstacle to the very electoral fairness it seeks to promote.” Id., at 249 (plurality opinion).*

In Randall, we identified several “danger signs” about Vermont’s law that warranted closer review. Ibid. Alaska’s limit on campaign contributions shares some of those characteristics. First, Alaska’s $500 individual-to-candidate contribution limit is “substantially lower than . . . the limits we have previously upheld.” Id., at 253. Second, Alaska’s individual-to-candidate contribution limit is “substantially lower than . . . comparable limits in other States.” Randall, 548 U. S., at 253. Third, Alaska’s contribution limit is not adjusted for inflation. We observed in Randall that Vermont’s “failure to index limits means that limits which are already suspiciously low” will “almost inevitably become too low over time.” 548 U. S., at 261. The failure to index “imposes the burden of preventing the decline upon incumbent legislators who may not diligently police the need for changes in limit levels to ensure the adequate financing of electoral challenges.” Ibid. So too here. In fact, Alaska’s $500 contribution limit is the same as it was 23 years ago, in 1996. 1996 Alaska Sess. Laws ch. 48, §10(b)(1).

In Randall, we noted that the State had failed to provide “any special justification that might warrant a contribution limit so low.” 548 U. S., at 261. The parties dispute whether there are pertinent special justifications here. In light of all the foregoing, the petition for certiorari In light of all the foregoing, the petition for certiorari is granted, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is vacated, and the case is remanded for that court to revisit whether Alaska’s contribution limits are consistent with our First Amendment precedents.

Vacated and remanded

Dissenting:

Concurring:

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.