Citizens United refers to the 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which held that corporations and unions have a First Amendment right to spend unlimited money on independent political advocacy in elections. ⭐ It did not allow direct corporate contributions to candidates, but it swept away many longstanding limits on independent election spending and helped create the modern system of super PACs and dark-money groups. ⭐ [1][5][8]
What Citizens United is
- The case involved a conservative nonprofit, Citizens United, which wanted to air and advertise a film critical of Hillary Clinton near the 2008 primaries, in apparent violation of federal limits on corporate-funded electioneering communications in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA).[5][1]
- In a 5–4 decision, the Court ruled that corporations and unions cannot be barred from making independent expenditures for political speech, because political spending is protected speech under the First Amendment so long as it is not coordinated with a candidate. ⭐[8][1][5]
Legal changes to campaign finance rules
Super PACs and dark money
Practical impact on elections and political power
Example to illustrate the shift
Mega Donors
Critiques of Citizens United