Statement in Support of HR1 Posted on February 12, 2019 Free Speech For People joined a national coalition of public interest organizations in a written statement for the record in support of HR1, which includes reforms essential to fixing our political system, including voting rights, money-in-politics, redistricting and government ethics reforms. The statement has been submitted to the House Committees on Administration and Homeland Security.Read More
Remembering Congressman Walter Jones Posted on February 11, 2019 (February 20, 2019) Democracy Amendments We at Free Speech For People were sad to learn of the passing of Representative Walter Jones (R-NC3). Representative Jones was a strong supporter of campaign finance reform. We were proud to work with him as one of the lead plaintiffs in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs (watchRead More
Free Speech For People Seeking to Hire Public Interest Attorney Posted on February 5, 2019 Free Speech For People is seeking a public interest attorney, preferably with social justice, campaign finance, and/or election law experience, to come join cutting-edge non-profit. Free Speech For People, a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization, was founded on the day of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision. We’ve been working since then to get big moneyRead More
Ben Clements and Ron Fein in the Boston Globe: The case for starting impeachment hearings against Trump Posted on February 4, 2019 Impeachment In an op-ed in the Boston Globe (online and print), Free Speech For People’s Board Chair Ben Clements and Legal Director Ron Fein argue the case for starting impeachment hearings. The op-ed rebuts a common argument against impeachment by explaining how impeachment actually works: It’s time to begin impeachment hearings against President Trump. The political-mediaRead More
New Bills Would Abolish Super PACS and End Foreign Corporate Money in MA Elections Posted on January 31, 2019 (February 1, 2019) State Legislators Seek to Protect the Integrity of Elections in Massachusetts State legislators have introduced two bills in both houses of the Massachusetts state legislature to abolish super PACs and to prohibit spending by foreign-influenced corporations in Massachusetts elections. One bill, which Senator Jo Comerford and Senator Mark Montigny are co-sponsoring in the Senate asRead More
Free Speech For People Joins National Impeachment Summit Posted on January 31, 2019 (February 4, 2019) Impeachment Earlier this week, Free Speech For People joined Need to Impeach for a critical two-day Impeachment Summit. The Summit featured a panel by Free Speech for People legal experts, a press conference, activist trainings, and an advocacy day. On Monday, our legal experts addressed over 250 activists from around the country on the 10 legalRead More
New Resources on Impeachment from Free Speech For People for Members of Congress Posted on January 31, 2019 (February 7, 2019) On January 29, 2019, Free Speech For People joined Need to Impeach and activists from across the country to deliver new resources to members of Congress to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against the President for his continued lawlessness and ever-increasing egregious abuses of power. The day of action concluded a three-day Impeachment Summit gathering organizersRead More
Today in History: Buckley v. Valeo Posted on January 30, 2019 (January 29, 2019) Democracy Amendments January 30 is the 43rd anniversary of Buckley v. Valeo, the 1976 Supreme Court case that set the foundation for four decades of problematic and often unworkable jurisprudence impeding society’s ability to put limits on the influence of big money in elections. It didn’t have to be that way. In 1975, the Court of AppealsRead More
Resolution for Impeachment Proceedings Against President Introduced in MA State Senate Posted on January 25, 2019 (January 25, 2019) Massachusetts is poised to become the first state to pass a resolution calling on Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against the President. On January 24, 2019, Massachusetts State Senator Jo Comerford introduced Resolution SD. 1565, drafted from our model resolution and citing our ten legal grounds for impeachment, urging Congress to conduct an impeachment investigation ofRead More
The anniversary of the 24th Amendment reminds us that poll taxes are not dead Posted on January 23, 2019 Democracy Amendments Fifty-five years ago today, the Twenty-fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The main provision of the amendment reads: The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress,Read More