Citizens United Anniversary. Posted on January 18, 2022 (January 21, 2022) Corporate Abuse of Power Twelve years ago today, the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission swept away a century of precedent that barred corporate money in our elections and opened the floodgates to corporations spending limitless sums of money to take over our elections. And lower federal courts have gone even further, prohibiting Congress fromRead More
Virginia Becomes the 22nd State to Support a Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United Posted on January 28, 2021 Democracy Amendments (Richmond, Virginia) — Today, the Virginia General Assembly passed a resolution supporting a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, which swept away a century of precedent barring corporate money in our elections. The resolution makes Virginia the twenty-second state to support this amendment to restore democratic power to theRead More
Justice James Nelson On The Tenth Anniversary of Citizens United Posted on January 21, 2020 Democracy Amendments On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down one of its worst and most activist decisions ever. Indeed, in terms of harm caused and the likelihood for future harm, the Court’s decision in Citizens United is, likely, the most pernicious Supreme Court decision ever issued in our nation’s history. ARead More
John Bonifaz and Jim Bopp Debate The Democracy For All Amendment on Outside The Box Posted on January 9, 2020 Democracy Amendments Free Speech For People President John Bonifaz recently appeared on Outside The Box to discuss political equality and the importance of a Democracy For All Amendment. During a debate with James Bopp, Jr., John outlined how the 28th Amendment would overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and related rulings and would end the systemRead More
McConnell v. FEC, 15 Years Later Posted on December 10, 2018 Democracy Amendments Today is the fifteenth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, a case that points to a future that could have been. The case The case was born out of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, also known as McCain-Feingold after its two Senate sponsors, John McCain (R-Ariz.)Read More
New campaign finance reform book, and a free chapter on the 28th Amendment Posted on October 26, 2018 (December 17, 2018) Democracy Amendments In April 2016, Free Speech For People co-hosted a symposium at Seton Hall School of Law featuring scholars and activists from across the country to help develop new thinking and proposed solutions for overhauling our nation’s campaign finance system. The ideas presented at that symposium led to the new book, ‘Democracy by the People: Reforming Campaign Finance in America’.Read More
How Big Donors Drove Tax Reform Posted on January 24, 2018 (January 25, 2018) There was big news this week on the money in politics front. Recent Federal Election Commission filings show that less than two weeks after the House passed the tax bill, Charles and Elizabeth Koch each donated $247,700 to Paul Ryan’s super PAC, Team Ryan. The same day, they lavished another $406,800 on the National Republican Congressional Committee. Major donors MarleneRead More
Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Soft-Money Rules of McCain-Feingold Act Posted on May 22, 2017 (May 22, 2017) This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court summarily affirmed a lower court decision rejecting a challenge to the “soft money” rules of the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. Read More
Free Speech For People’s Statement on President-Elect Trump, Bigotry, and Authoritarianism Posted on December 13, 2016 (October 2, 2018) Read our statement calling upon the President-elect and all public officials to completely and totally repudiate all elements of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected group status, and all forms of authoritarian governance that threaten the constitutional rights of all Americans. Read More
Free Speech For People Defends Contribution Limits on Political Equality Grounds Posted on October 5, 2016 (October 2, 2018) Free Speech For People is continuing to help defend Montana’s existing campaign contribution limits under fire from some of the same activists who served as architects of the Supreme Court’s infamous 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision.Read More