On December 29, the 9th circuit agreed with a U.S. District Court that Washington state cannot prohibit anyone from giving as much as $5,000 in a ballot measure campaign, during the three weeks before the election. Family PAC v McKenna, 10-35832. The 24-page opinion is here. The state defended the law by saying because Washington state uses all-mail ballots, lots of voters vote before election day. They might vote before they find out that someone gave as much as $5,000 for or against a ballot measure. But the decision says “voters who cast their ballots while campaigning is in full swing, however, make a voluntary choice to forgo relevant information that may come to light in the final weeks of the campaign.”

The same decision upholds two other Washington state laws. One says all campaign contributions for or against a ballot measure must be reported if they are as large as $25. The other laws says if the donation is as much as $100, the disclosure must include the donor’s employer’s name, and the donor’s occupation.