Nine More Communities Vote to Amend the U.S. Constitution

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: George Penn, 608-244-6436, georgepenn51@gmail.com

Nine More Communities Vote to Amend the U.S. Constitution

Madison, WI (November 7, 2018) – On Tuesday, November 6th, Wisconsin residents in nine communities voted to amend the U.S. Constitution to clarify that only human beings should have inalienable human rights and money is not the same thing as free speech.

All referenda passed with overwhelming majorities in three counties: Jackson (69%), Sauk (72%) and Wood (80%); the villages of Readstown (91%), Westfield (87%) and Weston (83%); and the towns of Kickapoo (85%), Rib Mountain (78%) and Vermont (86%).

That brings the total to 142 Wisconsin communities that have called for an amendment. In total, about three million people (55% of Wisconsinites) live in these jurisdictions. Across the country, 19 state legislatures have voted for an amendment, as well as over 780 towns, villages, cities and counties.

Kay Meyer from Rib Mountain said: “Hopefully our state elected officials will finally start to understand that when voters on both sides of the political spectrum from 142 Wisconsin communities indicate that they are unhappy with how campaign financing is working now, that it is time to take seriously the call of those voters to implement the needed changes to bring transparency and fairness to the process.”

Frank Buress, a leader in Marquette County, said: “These referenda consistently pass with amazingly high margins. This clearly demonstrates the will of the people.  It is time for our state representatives to put this resolution to a statewide vote, and to move towards sending a resolution from Wisconsin to the U.S. Congress.”

Resolutions calling for a statewide vote on Citizens United have been introduced into the state legislature (AJR 53 / SJR 54).  The referendum would ask voters if they support allowing individuals and corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns.

Multiple polls show over 90% of Americans, regardless of party, think special interest money has too much influence in American political campaigns.[1]  And numerous polls indicate that government corruption is either the most important or a very important issue facing the country. [2]

Gaylord Oppegard, a resident in Jackson County, explained that: “We need limits on how much money can be contributed and spent on political races. Only people have a constitutional right to free speech.  Money is not ‘political speech’ under the First Amendment.”

Four in five Americans oppose the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision, according to a Bloomberg poll. A New York Times/CBS poll found that 85 percent of Americans—including majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents—believe we need fundamental changes to our campaign finance system or to completely rebuild it.

Matt Rothschild, executive director of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, summed it up succinctly: “People across the ideological spectrum get it: All of our voices are being drowned out by those with big money.”

United To Amend is a cross-partisan, all volunteer, citizens group.

For more information visit UnitedToAmend.org

Background material can be obtained here: pdf1, pdf2 and pdf3.

Photos: photo1, photo2, photo3, photo4, photo5, photo6 and photo7.

Link to this press release.