In remarks at an October 7 forum hosted by the Elon Law School Democrats student organization, election law expert John Wallace reviewed recent court decisions impacting political campaigns in North Carolina and nationally.
In his election law practice, Wallace represents the North Carolina Democratic Party as well as an array of Democratic candidates, trade associations, and various nonprofit organizations. In his review of recent court decisions related to election law, Wallace questioned the United States Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
“One of the theories of Citizens is that if a corporation spends in support of a candidacy, but does not do so by working with the candidate’s campaign, there is little risk of corruption, there is little risk that the candidate will know, understand, and appreciate, and will therefore be inclined to favor the party of each entity or individual that is spending the money in support of the candidate’s candidacy,” Wallace said. “I personally think that is a great fiction.”
The Center for Responsive Politics reports that business associations, unions and ideological groups have spent more than $153 million on political advertisements and messaging in the 2010, with more than two weeks remaining before the November 2 elections, compared to less than $69 million during the full 2006 midterm elections.
Wallace said Citizens United was the latest in a string of recent Supreme Court decisions striking down federal campaign finance laws enacted in 2002 and upheld by the Supreme Court in McConnell v. Federal Election Commission in 2003.
“All of what has happened to campaign finance has coincided exactly with the changing composition of the court,” Wallace said.
Wallace also questioned procedural aspects of the Supreme Court’s actions in the Citizens United case.
“The court, purportedly a conservative court, purportedly not an activist court, reached back down and instructed the council for parties to brief additional issues, including the possible overturn of earlier Supreme Court precedent, and by that the court actually brought before it issues that had been thought to be settled law and were clearly the subject of fairly recent precedent,” Wallace said.
Jason Spitzer, President of the Elon Law School Democrats, said Wallace’s presentation was helpful in providing an overview of court decisions related to election law.
“Mr. Wallace gave us a great understanding of how election law has worked in North Carolina over the past few decades,” Spitzer said. “His insights into the current and future impacts of the Citizens United decision helped me to better understand the current and future trends in electoral politics as well as how this opinion was truly a marked shift from a long line of court precedent.”