Wealthy special interests are buying up endless amounts of advertisements, drowning out anyone who can’t afford to spend millions of dollars. We now have a government run by the wealthy that does not affect the diversity of our nation.
At the county, state, and federal level, whites make up 90 percent of our elected leaders, even though 37 percent of Americans are people of color. This inequality happens partly because people with extreme wealth tend to be white, and they can support candidates who look, think and act like they do. Often, this means they are not prioritizing the needs of people of color. Then, when people of color do run for office, it’s also harder for them to raise the money they need to win.
Wealthy special interests are corrupting our electoral system and supporting candidates that will support them in return. About 91% of the time, the candidate with the most money wins. Where does that leave the interests of the rest of us? We need to get big money out of elections!
To fix this, we have to overturn Citizens United v FEC and other Supreme Court rulings that have allowed unregulated, anonymous money to flood our elections. Initiative 735 will make Washington the 18th state to go on record telling Congress to overturn Citizens United and to make sure that all donations in elections are regulated and publicly disclosed. 735 says corporations are not people; money is not speech; and there should be limits on political contributions.
Please vote “Yes” on Initiative 735 to help your children and grandchildren get the democracy they deserve. Details on the initiative can be found at wamend.org.
