Tomorrow marks the 13 year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Below are ten ways the decision has eroded our democracy.
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Outside groups have spent over $9 billion in federal elections since the Citizens United decision 13 years ago.
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Over $1 billion in untraceable “dark money” was spent in the 2020 cycle alone.
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Over 96% of all outside spending in federal elections over the past 30 years has come since Citizens United.
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Nearly $6.4 billion has been spent by super PACs since 2010 – almost 4X what it cost to make all eleven Star Wars movies.
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The top 100 mega donors in the 2022 cycle spent $1.2 billion – 60% more than given by all 3.7 million small donors that cycle.
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Wall Street has been the top industry contributor in federal elections since Citizens United with over $3.9 billion in contributions, including over $2 billion in just the past two election cycles.
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In the election cycles following the 2010 Citizens United decision, the pharmaceuticals / health products industry has given over $67 million to outside groups.
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The Gun lobby has spent over $171 million in outside spending since 2010, nearly three times more than what safety advocates have spent.
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Oil & gas companies accounted for over half of corporate contributions to outside groups in the 2020 cycle of over $1 million – with every contribution going to GOP super PACs and dark money groups.
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Corporate special interests gave $69.5 million to support insurrectionists members of Congress.
The Good News:
“Protecting democracy” was the top issue listed by voters as an “extremely important” reason they decided to vote in the 2022 election, with nearly 80% more likely to support a candidate who wants to ban dark money.
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