Foundation History

The American Constitutional Law Foundation, Inc. was established in Colorado as a nonprofit, public-interest organization by a coalition of citizens — including petition circulators, Libertarian Party activists, and direct-democracy advocates — who believed that Colorado's newly enacted restrictions on the initiative-petition process violated the First Amendment.

Key founding members included Bill Orr (executive director), David Aitken (chairman of the Colorado Libertarian Party), Jon Baraga (statewide coordinator for the Colorado Hemp Initiative), and Alden Kautz (experienced petition circulator).

The organization was formed with a singular purpose: to challenge six Colorado regulations that severely restricted who could circulate initiative petitions and how they could do so.

The ACLF and individual plaintiffs filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, alleging that Colorado's initiative-petition regulations violated the First Amendment. The challenged provisions were:

The District Court struck down the registered voter requirement and the badge requirement but upheld the affidavit and monthly disclosure requirements.

Both parties appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. In a significant ruling, the Tenth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part — striking down all four challenged requirements (the voter registration requirement, the badge requirement, and the monthly disclosure reports), while upholding the age requirement and the six-month circulation limit.

This decision represented a substantial victory for the ACLF and set the stage for Supreme Court review. Colorado Secretary of State Victoria Buckley petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari, arguing that the state's regulations were necessary to protect the integrity of the initiative process.

The case was argued before all nine justices of the United States Supreme Court on October 14, 1998. Colorado's counsel argued that the challenged regulations were reasonable measures to prevent fraud and protect electoral integrity. The ACLF argued that petition circulation was core political speech protected by the First Amendment and that Colorado's regulations imposed unconstitutional burdens without adequate justification.

The argument drew significant attention from First Amendment scholars, civil liberties organizations, and direct democracy advocates across the country.

In a landmark 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court affirmed the Tenth Circuit and ruled in favor of the American Constitutional Law Foundation. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg authored the majority opinion, joined by Justices Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, and Souter.

The Court held that petition circulation is "core political speech" deserving the highest First Amendment protection. It struck down:

The Court upheld the circulator affidavit requirement as a less burdensome accountability mechanism.

Chief Justice Rehnquist dissented, joined in part by Justices O'Connor and Breyer. Justice Thomas concurred in the judgment but would have applied strict scrutiny to all the challenged measures.

Buckley v. ACLF has become a foundational precedent in First Amendment law, cited in scores of subsequent decisions involving petition circulation, campaign finance disclosure, and ballot initiative regulations. The decision established that:

The case continues to be cited by courts, scholars, and advocates across the political spectrum as a landmark affirmation of First Amendment rights in the context of direct democracy.