Citizens United Resolution
Issue: Expanding Democracy
Target Level of Office: Local
Policy Origin: City Council of Newark, New Jersey
Link: www.YEONetwork.org/2013policy/?i=265
Summary Narrative of the Policy: This resolution asserts that corporations should not receive
the same constitutional rights as natural persons, and because money is not speech, political
spending limits promote First Amendment goals by ensuring that all citizens’ voices are heard.
The Council also called for a constitutional amendment related to campaign finance reform and
ending the false doctrine of corporate constitutional rights.
Relevant Talking Points & Important Information:
• Citizens United and other court rulings obliterated a century of campaign finance laws.
Now a handful of special interests threaten to dominate political funding, often through
Super PACs and shadowy nonprofits. Public trust in government has plummeted.
• This resolution calls upon the U.S. Congress to propose and send to the states for
ratification an amendment to the United States Constitution to restore democracy to the
people by clarifying that corporations are not natural persons and should not be afforded
the same rights thereof and that money is not speech.
• According to People For the American Way, “the effects of [Citizens United] and other
decisions have not been hard to see. The 2012 election was the most expensive election
in our country’s history. In that election, almost 60 percent of super PAC donations came
from just 159 donors. Over 93 percent came from 3,318 donors, or 0.0011 percent of the
U.S. population. And the influx of money into our elections only continues to get worse.”
Policy
2014 Book
Local Level
99