Federal Election Comm’n v. Ted Cruz

§ 304 of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BRCA) limits political speech, abridging the First Amendment.

During his reelection campaign, Respondent loaned $260,000 to the campaign committee. The campaign committee, following the repayment loan limitations in § 304 of Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act and the regulations Petitioner implemented to enforce it, only paid Respondent $250,000, leaving $10,000 unpaid. Respondent filed action claiming § 304 of the BCRA violated his First Amendment right of political speech. The district court found for Respondent, holding that the loan repayment limitation in § 304 of the BCRA limited speech without justification. On appeal, the Court held that Respondents have standing to challenge § 304 of the BCRA and the limitation of loan-repayments in § 304 diminishes political speech, violating the First Amendment. The Court reasoned that § 304 of the BCRA restricted political speech because it restricts the source of funds that campaign committees use to repay candidate loans for elections, which cause an increased chance that candidates who loaned money will not get fully repaid. Additionally, § 304 did not prevent “quid pro quo corruption” which is the only permissible reason to restrict political speech. Therefore, § 304 of the BCRA restricts political speech, violating the First Amendment. AFFIRMED.