Get Big Money Out of Elections

State-level legislation to circumvent Citizens United

Who do you think has the most political influence: the voting Public or Big Money interests? Polls show 80% feel the influence of Big Money drowns out the concerns of the voting Public. For those of us in Whidbey Climate Action, this means our climate and ecological concerns get little traction in the Legislature and Congress, effectively suppressed by the interests of Oil & Gas and other corporations.

“If we are serious about representative government, then we need to stop avoiding the question of money in politics.”

- Rep. Clyde Shavers, May 7, Island Conversations

To address this issue Rep. Shavers is currently drafting a bill, inspired by The Montana Plan and in coordination with the Transparent Elections Initiative, that he will sponsor it in the next legislative session. He feels it will be the most consequential pro-democracy proposal for the next legislative year.

• The Montana Plan defines “artificial entities” created by the State, (corporations, PACS, SuperPACS, etc.) and denies them the power to spend money in elections.

• Citizens United struck down a federal regulation that prohibited an already-empowered corporation from spending its resources in elections. The Montana Plan makes Citizens United irrelevant, as it does not grant artificial entities the “powers” to spend in elections. No case has addressed whether a state must grant these powers in the first place.

• There is broad public support across the political spectrum for this. Of US adults, 72% want to limit campaign spending, 80% agree that those who make big contributions have undue influence.

• Since Citizens United, spending by Big Money has increased massively, from $574 million in 2008 (pre-Citizens United) to $1.3 billion in 2012, $3.3 billion in 2020, and $4.5 billion in 2024. 97% of campaign financing now comes from Big Money.

• Much of this Big Money is “Dark Money” - meaning that the entities giving the money are untraceable. Dark Money allows foreign governments and interests to influence our elections.

• Ideally, the state Senate will propose a bill that mirrors this one. Rep. Shavers is talking with senators now.

• Rep. Shavers freely acknowledges that this nonpartisan bill’s passage will depend on a huge upwelling of public support. Big Money will fight it tooth and nail.

Source: Americans for Tax Fairness

Ultimately and most significantly, Big Money is a corrupting influence in our elections. Artificial entities (like corporations) are created and operated by State law. Therefore the State has the duty to grant or deny powers, and this includes the ability to deny artificial entities the power to spend in elections. Rep. Shavers and his policy team are carefully crafting a bill that will direct the State to not permit “artificial entities” to spend money on elections. Once the drafting of this bill is finished, it will be our turn, and our privilege to get the word out and to do everything we can to garner public enthusiasm. We will let you know about the progress of this bill!

A final note: The day after our May 7th Conversation, Hawaii passed SB-2471 (very similar to the bill Rep. Shavers is drafting) with overwhelming support in both Houses. It is on the Governor’s desk, and he is expected to sign it.

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