On June 12, the Eighth Circuit agreed with a U.S. District Court, and ruled that Missouri cannot force campaign committees to form at least thirty days before an election. A campaign committee is a group that wants to spend money either in support of, or opposed, to a candidate for state or local office, or a ballot measure. Missourians for Fiscal Accountability v Klahr, 17-1314. Here is the 13-page opinion.

The plaintiffs had formed a committee 13 days before the November 2014 election, in order to support a statewide ballot measure. They were threatened with a fine, so they sued to overturn the restriction. The opinion quotes Citizens United, a U.S. Supreme Court opinion, which said, “The public begins to concentrate on elections only in the weeks immediately before they are held. There are short timeframes in which speech can have influence. The need or relevance of the speech will often first be apparent at this stage in the campaign. The decision to speak is made in the heat of political campaigns, when speakers react to messages conveyed by others.”

The decision is by Judge William Benton, a Bush Jr. appointee. It is co-signed by Judge James Loken, a Bush Sr. appointee, and Ralph Erickson, a Trump appointee. Thanks to Steve Hoersting for this news.