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For the first time, legislators, reporters, and most importantly, citizens, had a tool to evaluate their state’s performance on the core measure of voters’ ability to support the political candidates of their choice, free from state interference.īut that Index evaluates only one part of the equation: contributing to candidates, parties, and political causes. The first edition of the Free Speech Index, published in 2018, was a groundbreaking survey of state laws that determined whose laws on political giving were most protective of free speech. This is the second Index published by the Institute. Though campaign speech is often portrayed as a “wild west” with no rules, in fact, arcane campaign finance regulations govern the minutiae not only of almost every campaign, but of what ordinary citizens and the groups they belong to can say and how and when they can say it. In some important ways, our speech has never been more highly regulated. Many of these state laws are poorly written, complex, or both.ĭespite advances in constitutional protections for speech in the courts over the last decade, our politics – and campaign finance law in particular – remains more highly regulated than at any time prior to the 1970s. Each of the 50 states has its own collection of campaign finance laws and regulations limiting the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and petition.
Federal campaign finance laws and regulations contain over 376,000 words, but as this Index shows, this statistic only scratches the surface. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Unfortunately, Congress and the states have passed too many laws limiting these rights. This Index is the most comprehensive examination of state laws governing and regulating political engagement ever published.
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On behalf of the Institute for Free Speech, I am pleased to present the Free Speech Index: A first-of-its-kind analysis of laws restricting speech about government in all 50 states. Why We Published This Index Foreword by Institute for Free Speech Chairman and Founder, Bradley A. A Note About Contribution Limits and the 2018 Free Speech Index
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