Citizens of Boulder, Colorado voted last night to pass a ballot measure calling for a constitutional amendment stating that corporations are not people and do not have the same rights as people to influence elections. The campaign was a grassroots effort organized by Move to Amend, a national coalition dedicated to abolishing corporate personhood and reversing the Supreme Court’s deeply flawed decision in Citizens United v. FEC.
“From Occupy Wall Street to Boulder, Colorado and every town in between, Americans are fed up with corporate dominance of our political system,” said Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, a national spokesperson for Move to Amend. “Local resolution campaigns are an opportunity for citizens to speak up and let it be known that we won’t accept the corporate takeover of our government lying down. We urge communities across the country to join the Move to Amend campaign and raise your voices.”
The national movement supporting a constitutional amendment is picking up steam. Yesterday, Senators Tom Udall and Michael Bennet (with additional cosponsors) introduced an amendment that would reverse the effects of the Citizens United decision, a move which according to PFAW’s Marge Baker, will will help ensure that “the American people – not deep pocketed corporations – [will] be the loudest voice when we choose our leaders.”
Voters in Madison and Dane Counties, Wisconsin approved a similar measure earlier this year, and voters in Missoula, Montana will have a chance to do so next week.
The ballot measures may be scattered across the country, but the message is clear: corporations are not people, and the flood of special-interest money that has hijacked our democracy needs to be stopped.
A complete list of all resolutions passed so far is available here.