Initiative -735 is a proposed ballot initiative to reduce the corrupting influence of money on our elections and law making. Because of Citizens United v. FEC and other Supreme Court rulings, corporations now have the same constitutional free speech rights as people, and spending money to influence elections is considered free speech.
This means our elected representatives are no longer allowed to put reasonable limits on how much money corporations (or very wealthy individuals) can spend on influencing elections, because doing so would be considered a violation of their constitutional rights.
This initiative matters in a social justice way, that all voters should have equal voice, not just those that can afford to pay large amounts of money to influence how other voters vote (read – negative campaign ads). I-735 is also endorsed by FAN, the Faith Action Network. I-735 would make Washington the seventeenth to send this message to Congress. Sixteen other states have already passed such resolutions. Please sign the initiative wherever you see signatures gatherers. They are all volunteers for democracy. They are working for equal voice for all voters. If you agree that this is an important issue, please sign the petition when it’s out in the Fireside Room during coffee hour, or you can go to www.wamend.org and see other convenient locations to sign it under “Take Action”. We are hoping to get all signatures by October 31st. If you haven’t already signed, please sign as early as you can. You can also help by taking a petition and asking a few friends or neighbors to sign. We need lots of help to reach our goal of 300,000 signatures by end of October!
