The supreme court has struck down a century-old Montana law limiting corporate campaign spending, dashing hopes of a rethink over a controversial 2010 decision by the justices that allows for vast amounts of private cash being used to influence national elections.
Campaigners had hoped the court would look again at the so-called Citizens United ruling, which paved the way for an unprecedented rise in the money flowing into congressional and presidential campaigns from corporate sources.
But in a 5-4 vote, split along the same conservative-liberal lines as the earlier case, the court's conservative justices said the 2010 judgement also applies to state campaign finance laws.
"The question presented in this case is whether the holding of Citizens United applies to the Montana state law. There can be no serious doubt that it does," the justices ruled.
The Guardian.UK
