W.Va. Electioneering Law Challenged

The Beltway-based Center for Individual Freedom has filed a federal lawsuit targeting West Virginia's rules regulating corporate political spending and independent campaign advertising.

As The Associated Press reports, the group "wants to run television and radio ads targeting West Virginia's upcoming Supreme Court elections, but doesn't want to disclose how much it spends or who is footing the bill."

"The Center's values compel it to avoid speech that is conditioned on reporting and disclosure," the group's lawyers wrote, adding that "As a matter of policy, and because its supporters are not willing to be identified, the Center must either refrain from speaking or accept the risk of punishment if its speech is determined to be subject to regulation."

The center also seeks a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the relevant statutes, so it can air ads in time for the May 13 primary.

"To be clear, but for those laws and the injury they threaten, the Center would be proceeding with its ads right now," its lawyers also wrote.