OCTOBER TERM, 1975
Per Curiam
424 U. S.
4. The $25,000 Limitation on Total Contributions During any Calendar Year
In addition to the $1,000 limitation on the nonexempt
contributions that an individual may make to a particular candidate for any single election, the Act contains an
overall $25,000 limitation on total contributions by
an individual during any calendar year. § 608 (b) (3).
A contribution made in connection with an election
is considered, for purposes of this subsection, to be
made in the year the election is held. Although the
constitutionality of this provision was drawn into question by appellants, it has not been separately addressed at length by the parties. The overall $25,000
ceiling does impose an ultimate restriction upon the number of candidates and committees with which an individual may associate himself by means of financial
support. But this quite modest restraint upon protected
political activity serves to prevent evasion of the $1,000
contribution limitation by a person who might otherwise
contribute massive amounts of money to a particular
candidate through the use of unearmarked contributions
to political committees likely to contribute to that candidate, or huge contributions to the candidate's political
party. The limited, additional restriction on associational freedom imposed by the overall ceiling is thus no
more than a corollary of the basic individual contribution limitation that we have found to be constitutionally
valid.
and the legislative history but is also necessary to avoid the administrative chaos that would be produced if each volunteer and
candidate had to keep track of amounts spent on unsolicited travel in
order to comply with the Act's contribution and expenditure ceilings
and the reporting and disclosure provisions. The distinction between contributions and expenditures is also discussed at n. 53,
infra, and in Part II-C-2, infra.
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