Fair elections supporters suffer two setbacks

By Matthew Dondiego

A coalition hoping to curb outside spending in political campaigns is urging the state to pass

a resolution pressuring the federal government to enact a constitutional amendment overturning two controversial U.S. Supreme Court rulings that struck down spending limits for corporations and super PACs.

In the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruled corporations and unions could spend unlimited amounts of cash in political campaigns, sparking outrage among both local and national good government groups.

Four years later, the courts added salt to the wound with last month's decision in the McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission case, ruling it was unconstitutional to impose aggregate contribution limits on the number of candidates and political parties and organizations wealthy donors can contribute to.

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