| The purpose of this study is to chronicle and detail the impact that the Citizens United decision had on the 2012 presidential election. This research is significant because it reveals and documents the influence of the decision and its impact on federal elections. This study also adds to a body of scholarship that is evaluating a law that can transform participatory democracy in America. This study hypothesized that the 2012 presidential election would be strongly influenced by unprecedented spending resulting from Citizens United. The methodology for this study consists of an integrated review of the extant literature regarding Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and prior campaign finance laws. The information was obtained from databases such as JSTOR, newspaper articles, law review articles, books, opinion polls, and data tracking the sums of money spent on numerous federal election campaigns. In addition, this study asks and determines whether Super PACs elected the candidates they endorsed, thus receiving value and influence. This study has concluded that money did not decide the presidential election, due to several factors, which will be explored. |
