When the American republic was founded, it was understood to be unique in several respects. One of the most important was that the people, who were to be sovereign, would not take part in the administration of government. That is, unlike democracies in the ancient world, the people would not meet together to make laws directly. Since the 1970s, American elections have become heavily regulated.
Government regulates elections today by regulating campaign finance.
In such a vast republic, it is an inexorable fact of political life that financial resources, used to support candidate and party organizations, are essential if voters are to be fully informed of political arguments. By controlling campaign finance, then, government controls political speech. It is often noted, for instance, that it tends to benefit incumbents at the expense of challengers. This money came mostly from compulsory union dues and fees. California's recently defeated Proposition 226 was in large part an attempt to curb this power of unions to use their members' dues and fees, without their consent, for political purposes.