One person, one vote: That’s how we’re taught elections in our democracy are supposed to work. Candidates should compete to win our votes by revealing their vision, credentials and capabilities. We, the people then get to decide who should represent us.
Except these days there’s another election: Call it the money election. And in the money election, a small number of super-wealthy individuals and corporations decide which candidates will raise enough money to run the kind of high-priced campaign it takes to win. This money election starts long before you and I even have a chance to cast our votes, and its consequences are felt long after. On issue after issue, politicians often favor the donors who funded their campaigns over the people they’re elected to represent.
Super PACs and Super Wealthy Dominate Elections
Since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010, the super wealthy and the mega donors have gained even more influence in the “money election.”
Spending on political races has skyrocketed, and running for office has never been more expensive. The 2016 election cycle was the most expensive in U.S. history with almost $6.5 billion spent. As a result, unless candidates are independently wealthy, they often need to court contributions from mega donors or corporate interests to be competitive in their races.
This gives a very small number of people massive influence on who runs for office and, often, what issues they decide to talk about. In 2016, fewer than 400 families gave more than half of all of the money raised in the presidential race. That’s not how our democracy is supposed to work. Our democracy is supposed to be based on the principle of one person, one vote.
Taking Back Our Democracy
It’s time to reclaim our elections. That’s why the Student PIRG is working with U.S. PIRG on their Democracy For The People campaign.
Our campaign seeks to overturn the Citizens United decision. We want to pass an amendment to our Constitution declaring that corporations are not people, money is not speech, and our elections are not for sale. To do so, we’re going state-by-state, city-by-city to build the support its going to take to win. We’ve already helped get 16 states and nearly 600 cities, counties and towns to formally tell Congress that the Constitution must be amended. Getting this across the finish line won’t be easy, but it’s what’s necessary to reclaim our democracy.
Amplifying The Voices Of Small Donors
In the meantime, we’re working to amplify the voices of ordinary people in our elections. We’re working to create systems of incentives and matching funds for small contributions — systems that are already in place in some cities and counties. With your help, we can win real changes now in how elections are funded throughout America — so more candidates for more offices focus on
Here in California:
We won our campaign to get California to pass an initiative in support of a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision, which allowed corporations and unions to make unlimited contributions to political campaigns. We are now working to get our campus communities to commit to a public financing system for campaigns.