On Tuesday, February 24, the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society in San Francisco hosted Jeff Clements for a special conversation on how to amend the Constitution and reclaim democracy from special interest groups. More
Paul Blumenthal and Ryan Grim tell Huffington Post “The Inside Story Of How Citizens United Has Changed Washington Lawmaking.” In this important piece, we learn the direct impact the Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling has had on the flow of money in Washington and its influence on decision making. More
Yesterday, on February 24, Chicagoans went to the polls and 80% of voters (and counting) took a stand against the corrupting influence of big money. Voters in Chicago voted “YES”, in favor of small-donor focused reform that would put the power of politics back in the hands of the people. More
Maine Citizens for Clean Elections aims to provide candidates with access to more cash so they can better compete with their privately financed opponents. More
Check out this clip of Ben & Jerry’s co-founder and StampStampede.org founder Ben Cohen, stamping money out of politics on CNBC.
President Obama spoke with Vox Editor-in-chief Ezra Klein on how to best reform campaign finance, amongst other topics.
On “unlimited money” in politics as a key cause of polarization, Obama said, “I would love to see some constitutional process that would allow us to actually regulate campaign spending the way we used to, and maybe even improve it.”
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We’re pleased to work with Represent.Boston, an all-volunteer local chapter of the non-partisan, non-profit national organization Represent.US, on an innovative local effort to explore publicly funded municipal election models and other equal access campaign solutions for the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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On February 4, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke to Georgetown University Law Center on her life and career, among many other issues of the law. In response to a question about the one decision she would reverse if she had a “magic wand”, Justice Ginsburg responded it would be Citizens United. She also commented on redistricting and voter participation, and said that we need “a democracy for all.” More
Recently, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), announced new legislation to limit corporate felon’s ability to influence elections. We proudly support Representative Ellison’s work and acknowledge it is an important step toward undoing the damage of the Citizens United decision.
Today on Roll Call, our Legal Director, Ron Fein writes of the proposed legislation as “a bold step forward in challenging Citizens United.” More
Last week, Congressman Ted Lieu of California addressed a letter to the California Supreme Court echoing support for the people’s right to instruct their representatives with a ballot measure. Click through to read the full text of Congressman Lieu’s letter. More