A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last Thursday is expected to change the way political campaigns are financed — something some would say heavily affects the nation’s voters.

The 5-4 ruling allows business entities to influence federal campaign outcomes by spending unlimited resources on self-produced ads for or against candidates.

Christopher Owens, an assistant professor of political science, said the decision could increase the number of ads issued and how much money is spent throughout political campaign periods.

“It all depends on how the corporations want to react to this,” Owens said. “I think we have to wait a couple election cycles and see how this plays itself out.”

The decision — Citizens United V. Federal Election Commission — overturned campaign finance laws classified in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which prohibited businesses from financing issue ads from their general treasury funds. It also affects laws in 24 states.

The court struck down the BCRA rule that stated issue ads cannot air 30 days before primary elections and 60 days before general elections.

However, corporations and unions still cannot directly contribute to a candidate’s campaign. The decision does not affect political action committees.

Some also would consider the decision a triumph for free speech — an open invitation for powerful interests with money to corrupt the political system. The court majority, five of the nine Supreme Court justices, found restrictions of the BCRA legislation unconstitutionally inhibited First Amendment rights.

“The position in the court of course … is the willingness to equate corporations with individuals,” said assistant political science professor J. Cherie Strachan. “The Supreme Court is granting corporations the same free speech rights as individuals and saying that needs to be protected.”

Reaction

Among the court minority was Justice John Paul Stevens who, in his dissent, stated, “the court’s ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions around the nation.” President Barack Obama issued a statement on his Web site condemning the Supreme Court decision, calling it the most devastating thing that could happen to the public interest.

“This ruling opens the floodgates for an unlimited amount of special interest money into our democracy,” his statement read. “It gives the special interest lobbyists new leverage to spend millions on advertising to persuade elected officials to vote their way — or to punish those who don’t.”

The president said he already called on his administration and supporters in Congress “to develop a forceful, bipartisan response to this decision.”

The case spawned over controversy of whether Citizens United had the right to air ads for their anti-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton documentary, called “Hillary: The Movie,” during the 2008 Democratic presidential primary campaign.

-The Associated Press contributed to this report.

E-mail the author: Carisa Seltz