Mitch McConnell, United States Senator, et al. v. Federal Election Commission, et al.

Decided December 10, 2003. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 02-1674 · 540 U.S. 93 (2003) · Cited 740 times

Holding

The judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Austin v. Michigan State Chamber of Commerce · 494 U.S. 652 (1990)
• Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC · 528 U.S. 377 (2000)
• Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc. · 479 U.S. 238 (1986)
• First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti · 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
• Federal Election Commission v. Beaumont · 539 U.S. 146 (2003)
• Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee · 533 U.S. 431 (2001)
• Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. Federal Election Commission · 518 U.S. 604 (1996)
• United States v. International Union United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers · 352 U.S. 567 (1957)
• McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission · 514 U.S. 334 (1995)
• Federal Election Commission v. National Right to Work Committee · 459 U.S. 197 (1982)
• Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo · 418 U.S. 241 (1974)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission · 395 U.S. 367 (1969)
• Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife · 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
• California Democratic Party v. Jones · 530 U.S. 567 (2000)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee · 489 U.S. 214 (1989)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Whitmore Ex Rel. Simmons v. Arkansas · 495 U.S. 149 (1990)
• Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States Ex Rel. Stevens · 529 U.S. 765 (2000)
• Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition · 535 U.S. 234 (2002)
• Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 444 U.S. 620 (1980)
• Virginia v. Hicks · 539 U.S. 113 (2003)
• Citizens Against Rent Control/Coalition for Fair Housing v. City of Berkeley · 454 U.S. 290 (1981)
• Federal Election Commission v. National Conservative Political Action Committee · 470 U.S. 480 (1985)
• California Medical Ass'n v. Federal Election Commission · 453 U.S. 182 (1981)
• Brown v. Socialist Workers '74 Campaign Comm. (Ohio) · 459 U.S. 87 (1982)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
• Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. · 551 U.S. 449 (2007)
• McCutcheon v. Federal Election Comm'n · 572 U.S. 185 (2014)
• Davis v. Federal Election Commission · 554 U.S. 724 (2008)
• Randall v. Sorrell · 548 U.S. 230 (2006)
• Clapper v. Amnesty International USA · 568 U.S. 398 (2013)
• Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
• Vieth v. Jubelirer · 541 U.S. 267 (2004)
• CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphries · 553 U.S. 442 (2008)
• Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union · 542 U.S. 656 (2004)
• Federal Election Comm'n v. Ted Cruz · 596 U.S. 289 (2022)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2003). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).