Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/19-122_k536.pdf
Page Number: 4

4 

THOMPSON v. HEBDON 

Per Curiam 

Alaska permits contributions up to 18 months prior to the 
general election and thus allows a maximum contribution 
of $1,000 over a comparable two-year period.  Alaska Stat. 
§15.13.074(c)(1).    Accordingly,  Alaska’s  limit  is  less  than 
two-thirds of the contribution limit we upheld in Shrink. 
  Second,  Alaska’s  individual-to-candidate  contribution 
limit is “substantially lower than . . . comparable limits in 
other States.”  Randall, 548 U. S., at 253.  Most state con-
tribution limits apply on a per-election basis, with primary 
and  general  elections  counting  as  separate  elections.    Be-
cause  an  individual  can  donate  the  maximum  amount 
in  both  the  primary  and  general  election  cycles,  the  per-
election contribution limit is comparable to Alaska’s annual 
limit and 18-month campaign period, which functionally al-
low contributions in both the election year and the year pre-
ceding  it.    Only  five  other  States  have  any  individual-to-
candidate  contribution  limit  of  $500  or  less  per  election: 
Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, and Montana.  Colo. 
Const.,  Art.  XXVIII,  §3(1)(b);  8  Colo.  Code  Regs.  1505–6, 
Rule  10.17.1(b)(2)  (2019);  Conn.  Gen.  Stat.  §9–611(a)(5) 
(2017); Kan. Stat. Ann. §25–4153(a)(2) (2018 Cum. Supp.); 
Me. Rev. Stat. Ann., Tit. 21–A, §1015(1) (2018 Cum. Supp.); 
Mont. Code Ann. §§13–37–216(1)(a)(ii), (iii) (2017).  More-
over, Alaska’s $500 contribution limit applies uniformly to 
all  offices,  including  Governor  and  Lieutenant  Governor.  
Alaska Stat. §15.13.070(b)(1).  But Colorado, Connecticut, 
Kansas, Maine, and Montana all have limits above $500 for 
candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, making 
Alaska’s law the most restrictive in the country in this re-
gard.    Colo.  Const.,  Art.  XXVIII,  §3(1)(a)(I);  8  Colo.  Code 
Regs. 1505–6, Rule 10.17.1(b)(1)(A); Conn. Gen. Stat. §§9–
611(a)(1),  (2);  Kan.  Stat.  Ann.  §25–4153(a)(1);  Me.  Rev. 
Stat. Ann., Tit. 21–A, §1015(1); Mont. Code Ann. §13–37–
216(1)(a)(i). 
  Third, Alaska’s contribution limit is not adjusted for in-
flation.  We observed in Randall that Vermont’s “failure to