Doug Lair v. Steve Bullock

Since 1994, Montana has regulated the amount that individuals, political committees, and political parties can contribute to candidates for state office. Mont.Code Ann. § 13-37-216, as adjusted by Admin. R. Mont. § 44.10.338. In 2003, we upheld this provision against a constitutional challenge based on Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 96 S.Ct. 612 , 46 L.Ed.2d 659 (1976), and Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC, 528 U.S. 377 , 120 S.Ct. 897 , 145 L.Ed.2d 886 (2000). Mont. Right to Life Ass’n v. Eddleman, 343 F.3d 1085 (9th Cir.2003), cert. denied, 543 U.S. 812 , 125 S.Ct. 47 , 160 L.Ed.2d 16 (2004). Applying the “analytical framework set forth in Buckley and [Shrink Missouri ],” we held that “Montana’s interest in purging corruption and the appearance of corruption from its electoral system is sufficiently important to withstand constitutional scrutiny” and that § 13-37-216 was “closely tailored to achieving those ends.” Id. at 1098. We concluded that § 13-37-216 was “constitutional and [did] not violate the First Amendment.” Id.

On October 3, 2012, with less than five weeks before the general election and after absentee voting in Montana began, the district court…