To: Governor Andrew Cuomo
Urge Governor Cuomo to support a Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United
Governor Cuomo, it is time for New York to join other states throughout the nation and call for a constitutional amendment to prevent billionaires and Big Business from buying our elections. I urge you to speak out and encourage our state Legislature to call for an amendment.
Why is this important?
Since the Supreme Court ruling Citizens United vs FEC, New York has been bombarded with millions of dollars in outside spending intended to influence our local elections. This problem only gets worse with every election.
In the 2012 New York federal elections, spending by out-of-state organizations was 15 times higher than the amount spent in 2008. In 2013, in a state with 19.7 million residents, 170 campaign contributors gave more than $28 million – more than half the entire amount contributed to state-level candidates and party committees. If that seems outrageous, the 2014 election cycle saw total spending over $190 million in New York. Governor Cuomo himself has received 81 percent of his more than $45 million in campaign contributions from donors who gave him at least $10,000. Donors giving less than $1,000 accounted for only seven-tenths of 1 percent of his contributions.
The Citizens United decision also undermines our Constitutional right, as a state, to regulate our own elections. Constrained by this ruling, a federal district judge has reluctantly struck down the New York State law that limited outside spending in our elections.
But with your help, we can reverse this trend. NY is well on its way to becoming the 17th state to call for a constitutional amendment to prevent Big Business and billionaires from buying our elections. We must return the election process to the hands of the States and its people. To make it so, we need a majority of the Assembly and the Senate to sign on to a letter to Congress calling for an amendment. Call on them to sign that letter!
In the 2012 New York federal elections, spending by out-of-state organizations was 15 times higher than the amount spent in 2008. In 2013, in a state with 19.7 million residents, 170 campaign contributors gave more than $28 million – more than half the entire amount contributed to state-level candidates and party committees. If that seems outrageous, the 2014 election cycle saw total spending over $190 million in New York. Governor Cuomo himself has received 81 percent of his more than $45 million in campaign contributions from donors who gave him at least $10,000. Donors giving less than $1,000 accounted for only seven-tenths of 1 percent of his contributions.
The Citizens United decision also undermines our Constitutional right, as a state, to regulate our own elections. Constrained by this ruling, a federal district judge has reluctantly struck down the New York State law that limited outside spending in our elections.
But with your help, we can reverse this trend. NY is well on its way to becoming the 17th state to call for a constitutional amendment to prevent Big Business and billionaires from buying our elections. We must return the election process to the hands of the States and its people. To make it so, we need a majority of the Assembly and the Senate to sign on to a letter to Congress calling for an amendment. Call on them to sign that letter!