The Hill: Supreme Court ruling opens door to more campaign finance challenges

The Supreme Court’s recent donor disclosure ruling could embolden future challenges to campaign finance rules, experts say.

In Thursday’s 6-3 decision, split along ideological lines, justices struck down a California statute requiring charities to reveal their donors to state officials. The court’s conservative wing said the rule had a chilling effect on First Amendment rights.

The ruling doesn’t apply to publicly disclosed donors or political groups. But in the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that disclosure laws must be “narrowly tailored” to important government interests. …

Watchdog groups that advocate for stricter campaign finance rules, including the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, have insisted the ruling will not impact regulation of political groups.

“[T]his was not a campaign finance disclosure case, and campaign finance laws remain constitutional and vitally important despite the Court’s decision today,” Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn said in a statement Thursday.