Court ruling could force Maine election law change
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that an aggregate limit on campaign contributions to candidates is unconstitutional, prompting Maine elections officials to review whether the state will need to change its law in 2015.
Jonathan Wayne, executive director of Maine’s ethics commission, told the Portland Press Herald that his staff is reviewing the decision and may draft legislation, for consideration after the upcoming November elections, that would remove an aggregate cap of $25,000 for donations to state candidates and party committees. Wayne told the paper Maine’s law is probably unconstitutional because of the court’s 5-4 ruling, which struck down a federal limit of $123,200 for aggregate donations. The decision in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission kept intact a $5,200 limit on individual donations to specific candidates.
Wayne told the newspaper that donors in Maine rarely reach the $25,000 aggregate contribution limit. Big donors, he said, typically contribute to party and political action committees, for which there are no individual or aggregate donation limits.
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