Democracy Champions join Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Against Citizens United- Fueled Corruption
Feb. 20 Virtual Event Will Highlight Solutions to Empower Voters
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On February 20, members of the Declaration for American Democracy Coalition, including Public Citizen, Campaign Legal Center, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the League of Conservation Voters are teaming up with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) and other key allies to host a virtual event on the lasting impacts of Citizens United. The monumental 2010 decision has allowed limitless corporate election spending.
Hear from experts and democracy champions about solutions that can combat the corrosive influence of big and secret money in politics.
“It has been 15 years since the Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United decision,” said Erin Chlopak, Senior Director of Campaign Finance at Campaign Legal Center. “At this moment where billionaires are exerting unabashed influence over who serves in government, and whom government serves, CLC is fighting hard to close the book on the era of big money dominance.”
“The elaborately deceptive $20 million ‘RBG PAC’ scheme funded by Elon Musk in the final days of the 2024 elections showed how damaging it is when voters are surgically targeted with misleading ads while being blindfolded about who’s really behind them,” said Jon Golinger, Democracy Advocate at Public Citizen.
“There are many common-sense reforms that Congress could enact, including the DISCLOSE Act to promote greater campaign transparency and measures to rein in super PACs and address other gaps in the law (and lay the groundwork to limit or overturn Citizens United and the Court’s other harmful decisions),” said Marina R. Pino, Counsel, Elections and Government at the Brennan Center. “States can also lead the charge to make funding elections fairer and more inclusive. That’s already happening in New York State, which has implemented a groundbreaking new program to help candidates raise more of their money through small donations from constituents rather than big donors.”
“Big Polluters, corporate interests, and billionaires like Elon Musk have embedded themselves in the Trump administration and are attempting to co-opt our government for themselves at the expense of the health, safety, rights, freedoms, and wallets of everyday people. These harms will fall hardest on those most impacted by the climate crisis that Trump and his Big Polluter allies are worsening. Fifteen years after Citizens United, the impacts of corporate influence on our democracy could not be more clear —we need a democracy that works for all people, not polluters and billionaires.” said Justin Kwasa, Director, Democracy Program at League of Conservation Voters (LCV)
WHO: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, DFAD Coalition, Public Citizen, Campaign Legal Center, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the League of Conservation Voters.
WHAT: Hear from experts and democracy champions on the impacts of Citizens United
WHEN: February 20 at 12 pm Eastern Time
WHERE: RSVP HERE to this Virtual Event