What does the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) aim to regulate?

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), also known as McCain-Feingold, primarily aims to regulate soft money and issue advocacy in elections. Soft money refers to contributions made to political parties for purposes other than supporting a candidate directly, such as party-building activities, which were often used to circumvent federal contribution limits. The BCRA sought to limit these contributions by prohibiting national political parties from raising or spending soft money, thereby bringing more accountability and transparency to campaign financing.

Additionally, the act addressed the use of issue advocacy, where organizations could spend money on advertising that expressed opinions on issues rather than on candidates directly. The BCRA implemented regulations that aimed to ensure that these types of communications did not evade contribution limits by mandating disclosure requirements and placing restrictions on when such advertisements could be aired.

In contrast, the other options focus on aspects not addressed by the BCRA: it does not regulate how much money a candidate can earn, it does not deal with individual voting rights, and it does not regulate media types used in campaigns. The focus on soft money and issue advocacy is foundational to understanding the BCRA's role in modern electoral politics.