A federal judge just two months before Election Day has ordered that Wisconsin election officials not enforce the law limiting how much money candidates can collect from political action committees. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa on Friday issued the ruling in a lawsuit brought by the CRG Network, a political action committee that works to elect conservative candidates. The group argued that the limits were a violation of its free speech rights. Randa, in granting a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law, said the group was likely to succeed on that claim. Dana Brueck, spokeswoman for the Department of Justice, which was representing the Government Accountability Board in defending the law, had no comment.
Randa stopped enforcement of the law as it applies to all candidates for state office, rejecting arguments from the state Government Accountability Board, which enforces election law, that CRG Network didn’t have standing to challenge it other than for candidates to the state Assembly.
CRG Network said in its lawsuit that it tried to make donations of $250 to four Republican candidates for the state Assembly. Only one of them, Rep. Dan Knodl, of Germantown, accepted the donation, while the other three returned all or a portion of the money because they had already met their PAC donation limits.
Full Article: Judge orders state not to enforce PAC limits law (UPDATE) | Wisconsin Law Journal – WI Legal News & Resources.