Maine Becomes the 13th State to Formally Reject Citizens United and Call for Campaign Finance Reform
April 30, 2013
Maine Becomes the 13th State to Formally Reject Citizens United and Call for Campaign Finance Reform
Statement of Jonah Minkoff-Zern, Senior Organizer, Public Citizen’s Democracy Is For People Campaign
Momentum to free elections from corporate influence is growing. This afternoon, Maine became the 13th state to call for a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The resolution passed overwhelmingly with a 25-9 vote in the Senate and a 111-33 vote in the House, which included five Republican supporters in the Senate and 25 in the House.
The State Legislature’s resolution reads in part, “United States Supreme Court rulings, beginning with Buckley v. Valeo and continuing through Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and others, disproportionately elevate the role of wealthy special interests in elections and diminish the voices and influence of ordinary Americans.”
Maine’s vote comes less than a month after West Virginia passed a similar resolution to overturn Citizens United. Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota, Delaware and New Hampshire are among the other states currently considering actions calling for an amendment. New Hampshire is now the only state in New England yet to officially join the growing chorus against the Supreme Court decision, as Senate Republicans are blocking all resolutions from being debated.
The other states that have called for an amendment to overturn Citizens United include West Virginia, Colorado, Montana, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, California, Rhode Island, Maryland, Vermont, New Mexico and Hawaii, as well as Washington, D.C. Nearly 500 local municipalities have called for a constitutional amendment, including 28 in Maine. Read more about them here.
Public Citizen’s Democracy Is For People campaign is excited to be part of the growing momentum to overturn Citizens United, and applauds its allies Maine Citizens for Clean Elections and Free Speech for People for their leadership in Maine.
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