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the sole basis for regulating campaign contributions and
expenditures. See Davis, 128 S. Ct. at 2773. As the Court has
explained the anti-corruption principle, mere donations to
non-profit groups cannot corrupt candidates and
officeholders. In the words of the Fourth Circuit, it is
“implausible that contributions to independent expenditure
political committees are corrupting.” N.C. Right to Life, 525
F.3d at 293 (internal quotation marks omitted). And to the
extent a non-profit then spends its donations on activities such
as advertisements, get-out-the-vote efforts, and voter
registration drives, those expenditures are not considered
corrupting, even though they may generate gratitude from and
influence with officeholders and candidates. Rather, under
Buckley, those expenditures are constitutionally protected.
Therefore, limiting donations to and spending by non-profits
in order to prevent corruption of candidates and officeholders
represents a kind of “prophylaxis-upon-prophylaxis”
regulation to which the Supreme Court has emphatically
stated, “Enough is enough.” FEC v. Wis. Right to Life, Inc.
(WRTL), 551 U.S. 449, 478-79 (2007) (controlling opinion of
Roberts, C.J.).
Writing for the Fourth Circuit, Judge Wilkinson recently
summarized the relevant Supreme Court precedents,
concluding that “the Court has never held that it is
constitutional to apply contribution limits to political
committees that make solely independent expenditures.” N.C.
Right to Life, 525 F.3d at 292. Those non-profit groups
receive full First Amendment protection and are entitled to
receive donations and make expenditures because they “offer
an opportunity for ordinary citizens to band together to speak
on the issue or issues most important to them.” Id. at 295.
We agree with Judge Wilkinson’s assessment of the state of
the law.