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Advocacy Blog
Thursday, February 14, 2008
SpeechNow.org to File Lawsuit
As expected after the Federal Election Commission (FEC) issued a draft advisory opinion in January that SpeechNow.org cannot accept unlimited contributions from donors, the group plans to now file a federal lawsuit. SpeechNow.org is challenging the campaign finance law that requires that they become a "political committee" in order to advocate for or against candidates. As a registered as a political committee, its contributions would be limited to $5,000 from individuals. Represented by the Institute for Justice and the Center for Competitive Politics, they are requesting a preliminary injunction and ask that an expedited hearing on that request be scheduled within 20 days.
A press release states; "SpeechNow.org is not a PAC or a political party, it takes no corporate or union money-only individual contributions-and it will never donate to or coordinate with candidates or political parties. It is simply Americans talking to Americans about an issue of vital public importance: the right to speak freely about politics and whom to elect to secure it."
According to a Roll Call ($$) article, "If Speechnow.org ultimately wins in court, the group agreed that other activists, conservative and liberal alike, could copy its carefully crafted bylaws, raise unlimited cash from individuals and begin running ads in favor of or opposing candidates, expenditures that would be disclosed to the FEC."
Posted by Amanda Adams
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