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Page Number: 7

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

1 

Opinion of ROBERTS, C. J. 

NOTICE:  This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the
preliminary  print  of  the  United  States  Reports.  Readers  are  requested  to
notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Wash-
ington,  D. C.  20543,  of  any  typographical  or  other  formal  errors,  in  order
that corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

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No. 12–536 
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SHAUN MCCUTCHEON, ET AL., APPELLANTS v.
 
FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION
 

ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR 
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

[April 2, 2014]

 CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS announced the judgment of the
Court and delivered an opinion, in which JUSTICE SCALIA, 
JUSTICE KENNEDY, and JUSTICE ALITO join. 

There is no right more basic in our democracy than the
right  to  participate  in  electing  our  political  leaders.    Citi-
zens can exercise that right in a variety of ways: They can
run  for  office  themselves,  vote,  urge  others  to  vote  for  a
particular  candidate,  volunteer  to  work  on  a  campaign, 
and  contribute  to  a  candidate’s  campaign.    This  case  is 
about the last of those options. 

The  right  to  participate  in  democracy  through  political 
contributions  is  protected  by  the  First  Amendment,  but
that right is not absolute.  Our cases have held that Con-
gress  may  regulate  campaign  contributions  to  protect
against  corruption  or  the  appearance  of  corruption.  See, 
e.g., Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U. S. 1, 26–27 (1976) (per curiam).
At  the  same  time,  we  have  made  clear  that  Congress 
may  not  regulate  contributions  simply  to  reduce  the 
amount  of  money  in  politics,  or  to  restrict  the  political 
participation  of  some  in  order  to  enhance  the  relative 
influence  of  others.    See,  e.g.,  Arizona  Free  Enterprise