In January 2010, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that opened the floodgates for increased corporate influence in our elections. This decision, Citizens United v. FEC, rolled back long-standing restrictions on corporate spending in elections, allowing corporations, trade associations and non-profits to spend unlimited, and often undisclosed, amounts of money directly on elections.
As we mark the second anniversary of this unfortunate Supreme Court ruling, we must not sit idly as large donors try to buy our elections. We must seize this opportunity and let it be known that our democracy is not for sale to the highest bidder!
The 2010 midterm elections provided the first glimpse of the potential impact of this ruling, and this year’s Presidential election is on track to break records on election spending once again. If the Republican Primary elections are an indication of what’s to come, Super PAC spending could exceed direct campaign spending this year.
Fortunately, a new proposal at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) offers new hope to shine a light on this torrent in corporate political spending. The proposal, if adopted, would mandate disclosure of political spending for all publicly-traded companies, finally enabling citizens to hold corporations accountable for their political spending.
The future of our democracy hangs in the balance; please join us in sending a message to the SEC that now is the time to act to ensure full disclosure of corporate political spending.