Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/13pdf/12-536_e1pf.pdf
Page Number: 9.0

Cite as:  572 U. S. ____ (2014) 

3 

Opinion of ROBERTS, C. J. 

exchange  of  an  official  act  for  money.    See  McCormick  v. 
United States, 500 U. S. 257, 266 (1991).  “The hallmark of 
corruption  is  the  financial  quid  pro  quo:  dollars  for  po- 
litical favors.”  Federal Election Comm’n v. National Con-
servative  Political  Action  Comm.,  470  U. S.  480,  497 
(1985).  Campaign  finance  restrictions  that  pursue  other 
objectives,  we  have  explained,  impermissibly  inject  the
Government  “into  the  debate  over  who  should  govern.” 
Bennett,  supra,  at  ___  (slip  op.,  at  25).  And  those  who 
govern should be the last people to help decide who should 
govern.

The  statute  at  issue  in  this  case  imposes  two  types  of 
limits  on  campaign  contributions.    The  first,  called  base 
limits, restricts how much money a donor may contribute 
to  a  particular  candidate  or  committee.    2  U. S. C. 
§441a(a)(1).  The second, called aggregate limits, restricts
how  much  money  a  donor  may  contribute  in  total  to  all 
candidates or committees.  §441a(a)(3). 

This  case  does  not  involve  any  challenge  to  the  base 
limits,  which  we  have  previously  upheld  as  serving  the 
permissible  objective  of  combatting  corruption.    The  Gov-
ernment contends that the aggregate limits also serve that 
objective,  by  preventing  circumvention  of  the  base  limits. 
We  conclude,  however,  that  the  aggregate  limits  do  little, 
if  anything,  to  address  that  concern,  while  seriously  re-
stricting  participation  in  the  democratic  process.    The 
aggregate  limits  are  therefore  invalid  under  the  First 
Amendment. 

I 

A 

For the 2013–2014 election cycle, the base limits in the
Federal  Election  Campaign  Act  of  1971  (FECA),  as 
amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 
(BCRA),  permit  an  individual  to  contribute  up  to  $2,600
per  election  to  a  candidate  ($5,200  total  for  the  primary