FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Contact: Keyan Bliss, , (916) 318-8040
Washington State Overwhelming RejectsCitizens United
The Evergreen State Join 17 States to Call for 28th Amendment to End Corporate Personhood and Get Money Out of Politics
(Olympia, WA) – Voters in Washington are calling on Congress to pass a 28th Amendment to make clear that corporations are not people and money is not protected speech. Passage of the initiative stands in opposition to the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which opened the door for unlimited political spending in elections.
Over 1.2 million Washington voters passed Initiative 735 by a margin of 64%, making Washington the 18th state to support of constitutional amendment to make clear constitutional rights belong to individuals, not corporations, and that money is not constitutionally-protected free speech. The measure’s approval coincides with passage of California’s Proposition 59, where over 4.2 million voters supported the measure’s call for their congressional delegation to propose and ratify a constitutional amendment. Several cities and counties in Ohio and Wisconsin also passed similar resolutions in support of an amendment by overwhelming margins.
“We are inspired by the tireless efforts of volunteers in Washington over the last four years to achieve this victory in Washington,” said Move to Amend’s National Director, Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap. “The Evergreen State joins seventeen states to support a constitutional amendment ending the excessive corporate influence in elections. The leadership of both parties need to realize their constituents are demanding an end to the illegitimate doctrines of money equals speech and corporate constitutional rights through a 28th Amendment.”
Move to Amend is a rapidly growing national grassroots coalition of over400,000 individuals and thousands of organizations working to pass a constitutional amendment to make clear that Constitutional rights belong to human beings and political spending is not protected speech under the First Amendment. Their We the People Amendment was introduced in the US House of Representatives on April 29, 2015.
“Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Libertarians, and Independents overwhelming agree on this issue: we need broad and systemic reforms to establish a genuine democracy of, by, and for the people,” said Sopoci-Belknap. “With Washington joining as the 18th state, our movement will only get larger, stronger, and better organized everyday and with every election cycle. The time is now for Congress to take action in passing the We The People Amendment and send it to the states for ratification.”
Over 600 communities have passed local resolutions and over 300 ballot measures in support of a 28th Amendment. In addition to Washington, seventeen states have made similar calls for a constitutional amendment including: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia.
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Move to Amend representatives are available for interviews with the press. To arrange an interview, please contact or call 916-318-8040.