Tell Congress: We are people. Corporations are NOT!
Dear MoveOn member,
Yesterday marked the 14th anniversary of the disastrous Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling that paved the way for corporations to flood dark money into our elections and further drown out the voices of everyday Americans. Our elections should be determined by we, the people—NOT corporate entities and special-interest groups.
Since its passage, we’ve seen spikes in campaign spending year after year. In 2020, election spending was more than $14 billion—almost three times what it was in 2018.1 And with a high-stakes election just around the corner, concerns about dark money influencing our elections are even more urgent.
Citizens United rolled back a century-worth of guardrails protecting against corporate interests' influencing our elections.2 And despite the assurance by the Supreme Court that there would be transparency in spending, the reality has been anything but transparent. A decade after its passage, undisclosed groups flooded political campaigns with more than $960 million—compared to $129 million over the previous decade. And candidate spending was exceeded by outside spending in 126 races.3 Citizens United has completely undermined our democracy, further allowing corporate interests to buy our elections and undermine the votes and will of everyday Americans. Enough is enough!
The We the People Amendment will make right what Citizens United upended, writing into the Constitution that "the rights and privileges protected and extended by the Constitution of the United States are the rights and privileges of natural persons only" and that "the judiciary shall not construe the spending of money to influence elections to be speech under the First Amendment."4 It's time to abolish "corporate constitutional rights" once and for all and assert the inalienable human rights of "We the People."
The majority of Americans, when asked if they believe corporations should have the same rights as people, believe the Constitution should be amended to state that corporations do not have constitutional rights.5 We must take the future of our democracy into our own hands. Add your name to demand that Congress pass the We the People Amendment NOW!
Thanks for all you do.
–Jennie Spanos, Move to Amend
Sources:
1. "How Does the Citizens United Decision Still Affect Us in 2024?" Campaign Legal Center, January 15, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/186083?t=10&akid=373980%2E40999114%2EvSB8ex
2. "The case that could wipe out 100 years of campaign finance laws," Brennan Center for Justice, October 7, 2009
https://act.moveon.org/go/186084?t=12&akid=373980%2E40999114%2EvSB8ex
3. "More money, less transparency: A decade under 'Citizens United,'" Open Secrets, January 14, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/186085?t=14&akid=373980%2E40999114%2EvSB8ex
4. "Not All Responses to Citizens United Are the Same," Move to Amend, accessed January 19, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/186086?t=16&akid=373980%2E40999114%2EvSB8ex
5. "Study: Most Americans want to kill ‘Citizens United’ with constitutional amendment," The Center for Public Integrity, May 10, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/186087?t=18&akid=373980%2E40999114%2EvSB8ex
You're receiving this petition because we thought it might interest you. It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online petitions. You can start your own petition here.
Want to support MoveOn's work? Together, we must work to end the filibuster, codify abortion rights into law, and defend our freedoms, our families, and our futures. We can accomplish all this and more, but only if we work together.
Will you start a monthly donation right now to power our critical work?
Donate: $5 monthly
Donate: $15 monthly
Donate: $50 monthly
Contributions to MoveOn Civic Action are not tax-deductible for income tax purposes. MoveOn.org Civic Action - PO Box 96141, Washington, D.C. 20090-6141. This email was sent to John xxxxxx on January 22, 2024. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. MoveOn's privacy policy was recently updated. To read our new privacy policy, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.