MONROE - On April 5, Monroe and three surrounding communities will vote on whether the U.S. Constitution should be amended to say that rights are limited to only "natural born persons," not businesses or organizations, and that campaign finance should be transparent.
The referendum is an advisory vote only but urges the possibility of a change to the Constitution if enough of the country's population stands in favor of the amendment.
United to Amend, an organization founded in Madison in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision for Citizens United in 2010, requested the referendum be included on ballots.
Green County United to Amend co-chairman Harry Pulliam wanted to put an end to a practice of what the organization refers to as "dark money" and to recall the rights of private citizens from corporations.
"The whole concept of getting money out of politics is all over the place," Pulliam said. "A lot of people are talking about it."
The Citizens United case decision dictated that corporations and organizations have the same rights as an individual and therefore cannot be limited by government in their exercise of free speech guaranteed through the First Amendment. Free speech equaled campaign finance contributions in this case. It also allowed unlimited election spending through political action committees, which does not have to be reported. PACs can support candidates through advertisements and financially without being made known to the public.
Pulliam said analysis of national polls shows that people view big money in politics as the biggest problem facing democracy today. He noted that the issue is a bipartisan one, evidenced by a variety of people who have approached United to Amend in support of campaign finance reform. A total of 11 communities will vote on the referendum during the statewide primary in April, with four of them in Green County: the cities of Monroe and Brodhead, and the towns of York and Clarno.
For United to Amend, the referendum is also an attempt to bring the issue to the attention of lawmakers. Pulliam said because elected officials in both parties are being financed through the system, representatives tout the objective of reform but rarely follow through on their proclamations.
"Every time you turn around, some elected official is saying they want to eliminate big spending in campaigns," Pulliam said.
However, Pulliam pointed out that though bills have been introduced, the legislation has not gained much traction in Congress. Rep. Ron Kind introduced a bill which would ensure any donor to a campaign would have to be made public, titled the Campaign Transparency Act. It was referred to the Committee on House Administration on Dec. 17 and has remained there.
"You can't legislate your way out of this" when referring to the change the Supreme Court imposed on the country, he said. In order to amend the Constitution two routes can be taken. One includes both houses of Congress adopting a proposed amendment with two-thirds in favor and then three-fourths of the states' legislatures must ratify the amendment. The other option is to have two-thirds of the states' legislatures request Congress call a Constitutional Convention, which has not been done since the founding fathers constructed the Bill of Rights.
United to Amend has seen 16 states pass resolutions for an amendment to the Constitution; 34 total are needed. Pulliam said the organization hopes Wisconsin can be No. 17.
The referendum is an advisory vote only but urges the possibility of a change to the Constitution if enough of the country's population stands in favor of the amendment.
United to Amend, an organization founded in Madison in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision for Citizens United in 2010, requested the referendum be included on ballots.
Green County United to Amend co-chairman Harry Pulliam wanted to put an end to a practice of what the organization refers to as "dark money" and to recall the rights of private citizens from corporations.
"The whole concept of getting money out of politics is all over the place," Pulliam said. "A lot of people are talking about it."
The Citizens United case decision dictated that corporations and organizations have the same rights as an individual and therefore cannot be limited by government in their exercise of free speech guaranteed through the First Amendment. Free speech equaled campaign finance contributions in this case. It also allowed unlimited election spending through political action committees, which does not have to be reported. PACs can support candidates through advertisements and financially without being made known to the public.
Pulliam said analysis of national polls shows that people view big money in politics as the biggest problem facing democracy today. He noted that the issue is a bipartisan one, evidenced by a variety of people who have approached United to Amend in support of campaign finance reform. A total of 11 communities will vote on the referendum during the statewide primary in April, with four of them in Green County: the cities of Monroe and Brodhead, and the towns of York and Clarno.
For United to Amend, the referendum is also an attempt to bring the issue to the attention of lawmakers. Pulliam said because elected officials in both parties are being financed through the system, representatives tout the objective of reform but rarely follow through on their proclamations.
"Every time you turn around, some elected official is saying they want to eliminate big spending in campaigns," Pulliam said.
However, Pulliam pointed out that though bills have been introduced, the legislation has not gained much traction in Congress. Rep. Ron Kind introduced a bill which would ensure any donor to a campaign would have to be made public, titled the Campaign Transparency Act. It was referred to the Committee on House Administration on Dec. 17 and has remained there.
"You can't legislate your way out of this" when referring to the change the Supreme Court imposed on the country, he said. In order to amend the Constitution two routes can be taken. One includes both houses of Congress adopting a proposed amendment with two-thirds in favor and then three-fourths of the states' legislatures must ratify the amendment. The other option is to have two-thirds of the states' legislatures request Congress call a Constitutional Convention, which has not been done since the founding fathers constructed the Bill of Rights.
United to Amend has seen 16 states pass resolutions for an amendment to the Constitution; 34 total are needed. Pulliam said the organization hopes Wisconsin can be No. 17.