Independence Day: Call Out the Influence of Big Money in our Elections
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“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
The Declaration of Independence asserts that governments ... derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. In 1776 our country fought a war against tyranny and non-representation. We won that war but in 2024, we are fighting an internal war on many fronts: against unequal access to quality healthcare, systemic racism, environmental degradation, universal suffrage, even the right to control our own body.
Our right to equal representation is also currently challenged by the role of corporations and special interests who do not represent voters, yet often determine our public policies through big business’ pay-to-play practices. It underpins a growing disconnect between citizens and the issues that they care about, from healthcare to climate change, from access to broadband to under-investment in our schools and local communities.
The “governed” in Virginia are asking for a “thumbs up” for good governance, transparency, and accountability by our elected officials, both in Congress and our General Assembly. Let's support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, called the For Our Freedom amendment, which allows the states, and Congress, the right to regulate election spending. And let's call for our legislators in the Virginia General Assembly to pass common sense campaign finance laws. These include limits on contributions, restrictions on personal use of donations, disclosure of dark money advertising, public financing of election, etc. We don't have to be ranked 46 out of 50 in the Coalition for Integrity's SWAMP Index.
Take Action on Independence Day!
1) Take a few seconds and ask your elected officials to support campaign finance reform, federally through a constitutional amendment and in Virginia through passing campaign finance laws. Click here to take quick action.
2) Test your civics knowledge in this short quiz. It reviews Supreme Court rulings on campaign finance reform and the history of state and federal legislation to regulate money in politics. Check it out by clicking here. Interested in more information about the questions/answers? Click here.
Who are we? Just a bunch of citizens who care about democracy.
BigMoneyOutVA is a non-profit, cross-partisan volunteer group, that advocates for state-level campaign finance and related ethics reform. In support of this mission, we are also working to get Virginia to be among the states to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution which allows Congress and the states to regulate election spending. We seek these reforms to increase the legitimacy and integrity of government and to enable our elected legislators and other elected officials to better reflect the interests and will of Virginian citizens.