Constitutional amendment needed to limit dark money political spending

The Citizens United decision of January 2010 removed restrictions on election spending by corporations and political action committees, leading the way to unlimited and hidden money in elections and policy decisions.

This decision led to 12 years of rampant political corruption. We in Ohio have experienced firsthand the dire consequences of enormous amounts of dark money in legislative campaigns and decisions.

A major change nationally since 2010, when Republicans dominated dark money spending, is that now it’s the Democrats. Democratic Party dark money groups – nonprofits that are not required to disclose their donors – spent more than $514 million on the 2020 elections, twice as much as Republican Party groups.

Money in politics truly is a cross-partisan issue.

An alarming precedent in recent years also is the influence of foreign money on candidate and issue campaigns.

The Citizens United decision did not reverse the ban on foreign money in elections, but it provided opportunities for foreign groups to funnel money secretly to elections through nonprofits and shell companies.

Now ballot measures, and federal, state and local elections, are at risk for foreign interference.

The solution to the big and dark money problem is a constitutional amendment passed by Congress and sent to the states to ratify.

American Promise Ohio is working toward raising awareness for this amendment. We want to be “ready to ratify” when Congress acts. To achieve this, we need abundant grassroots support. Join our movement at americanpromise.net.

Ellen Greene Bush, American Promise Ohio