Anti‐Democratic Influence: The Effect of Citizens United on State Democratic Performance

Does money in politics affect democratic performance? I study the effect of the Supreme Court's 2010 landmark decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which struck down existing state bans on independent campaign expenditures, on democracy in the U.S. states. Results from a difference‐in‐differences...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Legislative studies quarterly 2024-08, Vol.49 (3), p.455-480
Main Author: Fordham, Rachel Funk
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American politics
campaign finance
Citizens
Democracy
Expenditures
Money
Politics
state politics
States
Supreme courts
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Does money in politics affect democratic performance? I study the effect of the Supreme Court's 2010 landmark decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which struck down existing state bans on independent campaign expenditures, on democracy in the U.S. states. Results from a difference‐in‐differences design indicate that the Citizens United ruling had a substantial negative effect on state democratic performance and that this effect is largely independent of the effect of Republican party control identified by previous research. The results suggest that unlimited political spending may pose a threat to the health of democracy in the United States.
ISSN:0362-9805
1939-9162
DOI:10.1111/lsq.12447