Taking Opt-In Rights Seriously: What Knox v. SEIU Could Mean for Post-Citizens United Shareholder Rights

Our nation has struggled with regulating money in politics for centuries. In the normal course of events, the political branches, the 50 states, or voters choose the contours of such regulations. Knox is remarkable because it makes the Supreme Court the source of a national paycheck protection rationale, at least in the case of special assessments for public-sector unions. But Knox raises the intriguing possibility that a future Supreme Court (instead of a state legislature or Congress) could impose a shareholder consent rule.

In the meantime, the onus is on state legislatures, Congress, administrative agencies, and American voters to bring corporate political spending rules in line with union political spending rules. If unions must jump through hoops to exercise their political rights, then corporations should too.