The U.S. Supreme Court ruling McCutcheon v Federal Election Commission, issued April 2, 2014, has language that could potentially be cited by plaintiffs in constitutional ballot access lawsuits. The opinion says, “There is no right more basic in our democracy than the right to participate in electing our political leaders. Citizens can exercise that right in a variety of ways: They can run for office themselves, vote, urge others to vote for a particular candidate, volunteer to work on a campaign, and contribute to a candidate’s campaign.”

Here is a blog post by election law expert Bob Bauer, from his blog MoreSoftMoneyHardLaw.com, which talks about the implications of that paragraph. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.