The Supreme Court is passing up an election eve chance to weigh in on campaign finance disclosure rules for groups that raise and spend money independently of candidates. The justices on Monday rejected an appeal from the conservative group SpeechNow.org, which want wants to limit what it has to tell the Federal Election Commission about its activities.
The court's action a day before the 2010 midterm elections leaves in place a federal appeals court decision that struck down limits on contributions to SpeechNow and similar independent groups, but upheld disclosure requirements.
Outside groups have so far spent more than $264 million, more than four times as much as they did four years ago.
