For decades, corporate interests & the wealthy have sought to influence American elections. FEC v. Citizens United opened the floodgates to this influence and since the 2010 ruling, billions in ‘dark money’ dollars have flowed into campaign coffers, making elected officials accountable to corporations over their constituents.

Since Citizens United, ethics restrictions have only weakened. In Summer 2024, the Supreme Court ruled on Snyder v. United States, effectively legalizing bribery through gratuities to officials.

As elected officials become less representative and responsive, anti-democratic figures can use voter cynicism to propel themselves to power and further degrade our representative democracy. As students, we’re fighting to build a democracy of the people (not the corporations) by:

• Working with allies to pass a constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United, end the corrupt campaign finance system, and end corporate spending in elections through the For The People Act.
• Move towards overturning Snyder and hold officials accountable for accepting bribes.
• Closing the revolving door between elected office & civil service positions and the private sector.