Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation, Inc., 525 U.S. 182, 4 (1999)

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Cite as: 525 U. S. 182 (1999)

Syllabus

interests, the reporting and disclosure provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. Mindful of Buckley, the Tenth Circuit did not upset Colorado's disclosure requirements as a whole. Notably, the Court of Appeals upheld the State's requirements for disclosure of payors, in particular, proponents' names and the total amount they have spent to collect signatures for their petitions. Disclosure of the names of initiative sponsors, and the amounts they have spent to gather support for their initiatives, responds to Colorado's substantial interest in controlling domination of the initiative process by affluent special interest groups. The added benefit of revealing the names of paid circulators and amounts paid to each circulator, the lower courts fairly determined from the record as a whole, has not been demonstrated. This Court expresses no opinion whether other monthly report prescriptions regarding which the Tenth Circuit identified no infirmity would, standing alone, survive review. Pp. 201-204.

(e) Through less problematic measures, Colorado can and does meet the State's substantial interest in regulating the ballot-initiative process. To deter fraud and diminish corruption, Colorado retains an arsenal of safeguards. To inform the public about the source of funding for ballot initiatives, the State legitimately requires sponsors of ballot initiatives to disclose who pays petition circulators, and how much. To ensure grass roots support, Colorado conditions placement of an initiative proposal on the ballot on the proponent's submission of valid signatures representing five percent of the total votes cast for all candidates for Secretary of State at the previous general election. Furthermore, in aid of efficiency, veracity, or clarity, Colorado has provided for an array of process measures not contested here by ACLF. Pp. 204-205. 120 F. 3d 1092, affirmed.

Ginsburg, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, and Souter, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, post, p. 206. O'Connor, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part, in which Breyer, J., joined, post, p. 215. Rehnquist, C. J., filed a dissenting opinion, post, p. 226.

Gale A. Norton, Attorney General of Colorado, argued the cause for petitioner. With her on the briefs were Richard A. Westfall, Solicitor General, and Maurice G. Knaizer, Deputy Attorney General.

Neil D. O'Toole argued the cause for respondents. With him on the brief for respondents American Constitutional

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