Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Campaign finance is a complex area of jurisprudence with profound influence over American democracy and the state of the First Amendment. This volume brings together preeminent voices in law and public policy to discuss legal developments in this area and their consequences over the last fifty years, with special focus on major Supreme Court cases like Buckley v. Valeo and Citizens United. Often reasoning from First Amendment considerations, these cases have created a new generation of problems that challenge democracy and pose a threat to the viability of American society and its ideals. The authors here consider salient questions such as: what the idea of “one person, one vote” means in theory and practice; how to minimize improper electoral influences; the extent to which policy will always be affected by matters extraneous to its merit; in short, how America’s current campaign finance system leads to a complex clash of values and legislative realities. Various proposals for reforming the campaign finance system and their relative strengths and weaknesses are also presented.</jats:p>