Final answer:
The 2014 Supreme Court case McCutcheon v. FEC struck down aggregate limits on individual contributions to political campaigns, ruling them a First Amendment violation, and thereby allowing unlimited individual donations to any number of candidates or committees.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Supreme Court case McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, decided in 2014, addressed the constitutionality of aggregate limits on individual contributions to political campaigns. These limits had been established by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, commonly known as the McCain-Feingold Act. The McCutcheon decision struck down these aggregate limits, ruling that they violated the First Amendment rights of individuals by restricting their ability to participate in the political process through financial contributions. This case followed Citizens United v. FEC, which extended First Amendment protections to corporations and labor unions, allowing them to spend unlimited amounts on elections. As a result of McCutcheon, individuals can donate to an unlimited number of candidates or committees, although the base limit on how much can be given to each candidate or committee in a single election cycle remains in place.