Corporate Influence on Elections

Press Release

A Senate vote is set for Tuesday afternoon on legislation to undo some of the damage from a Supreme Court decision that essentially cleared the way for virutally unchecked influence of huge corporations on elections in the United States. The measure is a response to a Jan. 21 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, which lifted strict limits in place for decades on corporate spending on political campaigns. Justices ruled 5 to 4 that corporations have the same free-speech rights as individuals and can spend funds from corporate treasuries on political campaigns. "Congress must move forward aggressively in response to the ruling that would open the flood gates for the largest corporations to spend unlimited resources electing candidates who represent their interests," Senator Bernie Sanders said. "Unless the law is changed, the ruling will give control of the political process to the wealthiest and most powerful institutions in the world and the candidates who support their agenda. Instead of democracy being about one-person one-vote, it will be about the size of a company's bank account."

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