Cite as: 533 U. S. 431 (2001)
Opinion of the Court
tions are more clearly justified by a link to political corruption than limits on other kinds of unlimited political spending are (corruption being understood not only as quid pro quo agreements, but also as undue influence on an officeholder's judgment, and the appearance of such influence, Shrink Missouri, supra, at 388-389). At least this is so where the spending is not coordinated with a candidate or his campaign. Colorado I, supra, at 615; Buckley, 424 U. S., at 47. In Buckley we said that:
"[u]nlike contributions, . . . independent expenditures may well provide little assistance to the candidate's campaign and indeed may prove counterproductive. The absence of prearrangement and coordination of an expenditure with the candidate or his agent not only undermines the value of the expenditure to the candidate, but also alleviates the danger that expenditures will be given as a quid pro quo for improper commitments from the candidate." Ibid.
Given these differences, we have routinely struck down limitations on independent expenditures by candidates, other individuals, and groups, see Federal Election Comm'n v. National Conservative Political Action Comm., 470 U. S. 480, 490-501 (1985) (political action committees); Buckley, supra, at 39-58 (individuals, groups, candidates, and campaigns),6 while repeatedly upholding contribution limits, see Shrink Missouri, supra (contributions by political action
6 The expenditure limits invalidated in Buckley applied to candidates and their campaigns, and to "persons." See 424 U. S., at 39-40, 51, 54, 58. "Person" was defined as "an individual, partnership, committee, association, corporation, or any other organization or group of persons." 18 U. S. C. § 591(g) (1970 ed., Supp. IV); see also Buckley, 424 U. S., at 144- 235 (appendix reprinting then-current Act). Although this language is broad enough to cover political parties, id., at 19, and n. 19, 39, parties with a candidate on the ballot were covered instead by the special Party Expenditure Provision, which was not challenged on First Amendment grounds, id., at 58, n. 66.
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