Civics & Government · 9th Grade · Political Parties and Ideology · Weeks 19-27

Campaign Finance and PACs

Investigating the role of money, Super PACs, and the Citizens United ruling in elections.

• Common Core State Standards
• C3: D2.Civ.5.9-12
• C3: D2.Civ.11.9-12

About This Topic

Campaign finance rules in the United States have undergone fundamental changes since the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC ruling, in which the Supreme Court held that corporations and unions have First Amendment rights to spend unlimited money on independent political speech. The ruling opened the door to Super PACs -- independent expenditure committees that can raise and spend unlimited funds but cannot legally coordinate with candidate campaigns. The practical line between independent spending and coordination has proven difficult to enforce, and legal scholars continue to debate whether current rules meaningfully separate the two.

For 9th graders, this topic connects abstract constitutional principles to concrete democratic outcomes: who can run for office, which issues receive sustained media attention, and how elected officials allocate their time between governing and fundraising. Understanding campaign finance is essential background for evaluating almost any other political topic, because money shapes the political agenda before voters ever see a ballot.

Active learning approaches -- particularly structured debates and data investigations -- help students grapple with the genuine constitutional tension between free speech and democratic equality without reducing a complex issue to partisan talking points.

Key Questions

1. Evaluate whether money is a form of protected speech.
2. Analyze how the need for constant fundraising affects the work of elected officials.
3. Design a just policy for campaign finance.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the legal arguments presented in the Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court case regarding corporate political spending and free speech.
• Evaluate the impact of Super PACs on the cost and nature of modern political campaigns in the United States.
• Design a proposed campaign finance reform policy, justifying its provisions based on principles of democratic equality and free speech.
• Compare the fundraising strategies and time allocation of elected officials before and after the Citizens United ruling.

Before You Start

Foundations of the U.S. Constitution

Why: Students need a basic understanding of the Bill of Rights, particularly the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, to analyze the legal arguments in campaign finance cases.

Structure of the U.S. Government

Why: Understanding the roles of Congress, the President, and the judiciary provides context for how campaign finance laws are made, enforced, and challenged.

Key Vocabulary

Independent Expenditure	Spending by groups or individuals on political communications that expressly advocate for the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, but are made without coordination with the candidate's campaign.
Super PAC	A type of independent expenditure-only committee that may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations, and individuals to overtly advocate for or against political candidates.
Citizens United v. FEC	A landmark 2010 Supreme Court case that ruled the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political communications by corporations, labor unions, other associations, and individuals.
Coordination	In campaign finance law, this refers to collaboration between a candidate's campaign and an independent expenditure group, which is illegal and can invalidate the independent status of the spending.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Super PACs can donate money directly to candidate campaigns.

What to Teach Instead

Super PACs are legally prohibited from donating to or coordinating directly with candidate campaigns. They can spend unlimited amounts on independent ads, but the candidate cannot direct that spending. Critics argue the coordination ban is inadequately enforced, but the formal legal prohibition is real and a frequent test question.

Common Misconception

Campaign finance rules only affect presidential elections.

What to Teach Instead

Federal campaign finance rules apply to all federal races: House, Senate, and the presidency. Many states have their own rules for state and local races, ranging from strict public financing systems used in Maine and Arizona to virtually no limits at all. The variation across states is itself a subject worth exploring.

Common Misconception

Dark money is illegal.

What to Teach Instead

Dark money refers to political spending by nonprofits that don't disclose their donors. This practice is legal under current rules. The term 'dark' refers to opacity, not illegality. Advocacy organizations across the political spectrum use this structure, which is why reform proposals focus on disclosure requirements rather than outright prohibition.

Active Learning Ideas

Structured Academic Controversy: Is Money a Form of Protected Speech?

Pairs research the strongest arguments on each side of Citizens United, then switch positions and argue the opposite view. After presenting both sides, the group works toward a nuanced synthesis position. This format requires students to understand an argument fully before they evaluate it, which builds analytical depth that simple debates don't produce.

50 min·Pairs

Fishbowl Discussion: Design a Just Campaign Finance System

An inner circle of four to five students debates what rules they would impose if they could design campaign finance from scratch. Constraint: rules must either work within current constitutional precedent or students must explicitly argue why precedent should change. The outer circle tracks the strongest arguments and identifies which values are in tension.

45 min·Whole Class

Data Investigation: Follow the Money

Students use publicly available FEC data or OpenSecrets summaries to trace the top donors to a recent Senate or House race in their state. They identify which industries or interest groups dominate, then cross-reference with the elected official's committee assignments and voting record on related legislation. Groups present a data-grounded hypothesis about what the funding relationship might mean in practice.

55 min·Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Campaign Finance Law Timeline

Post stations covering major milestones: FECA (1971), Buckley v. Valeo (1976), McCain-Feingold (2002), Citizens United (2010), and McCutcheon v. FEC (2014). Groups annotate each entry with what changed, who benefited, and what remained unresolved. A final synthesis station asks students to identify the single biggest unresolved tension in current law.

40 min·Small Groups

Real-World Connections

• Journalists covering congressional races in swing states like Pennsylvania often report on the volume of Super PAC advertising, noting how these independent expenditures can drown out candidate messages.
• Political consultants working for national party committees analyze fundraising data to advise candidates on how to best attract major donors, a process heavily influenced by the current campaign finance landscape.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

Pose the following question to the class: 'The Supreme Court stated that money is speech. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Provide at least one piece of evidence from our readings or class discussions to support your position.'

Exit Ticket

Ask students to write on an index card: 'One way Super PACs have changed elections is ______. This change affects voters by ______.'

Quick Check

Present students with two brief scenarios describing political spending. Ask them to identify which scenario likely represents an illegal coordination between a campaign and an independent expenditure committee, and explain their reasoning.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Super PAC and how is it different from a regular PAC?

A regular Political Action Committee collects contributions within federal caps and can donate directly to candidate campaigns. A Super PAC can raise unlimited funds from corporations, unions, and individuals but cannot give that money to candidates -- it must be spent independently. The practical distinction between independent and coordinated spending is a source of ongoing legal and political debate.

What did Citizens United actually decide?

The Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. FEC (2010) that the government cannot restrict independent political spending by corporations, associations, or labor unions under the First Amendment. The majority held that such spending is protected speech. Contribution limits to candidates still exist -- Citizens United removed restrictions on independent expenditure, not on direct donations.

What is dark money in politics?

Dark money refers to political spending by tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, typically 501(c)(4) social welfare groups, that are not required to publicly disclose their donors. These groups can run political ads without revealing who funds them, creating an accountability gap that critics argue makes it difficult for voters to evaluate whose interests a political message advances.

How can students use active learning to investigate campaign finance in their own state?

Analyzing actual FEC data from a real recent race makes campaign finance tangible. Students can compare donor profiles between two candidates, trace industry ties, and then evaluate whether those ties appear to influence legislative votes on related issues. This evidence-based investigation develops both civic knowledge and the data literacy skills students will need throughout their lives.