End Citizens United (ECU) // Let America Vote (LAV) today endorsed Senator Jon Tester for the U.S. Senate in Montana.
“Senator Tester embodies Montana’s proud tradition of supporting good government and clean, transparent elections,” said ECU // LAV President Tiffany Muller. “He knows that our government too often caters to the special interests instead of hardworking Montanans, which is why he’s led the charge to change the way Washington works. Whether it’s working to overturn Citizens United, shining a light on dark money, or making politicians accountable to the people, Senator Tester has been fighting to bring commonsense Montana values to the Senate. We’re proud to endorse Senator Tester, and we look forward to helping him get reelected.”
“Montanans know too well the negative impacts of unlimited dark money spending in our campaigns. Massive corporations and millionaires are buying elections, drowning out the voice of working Montanans and changing our state for the worse,” said Tester. “We will not stop fighting to end our broken system that only favors the wealthy special interests. I’m honored to be endorsed by End Citizens United and Let America Vote, an organization that has been invaluable in working to combat the corrosive effects that Citizens United is having on our democracy.”
Tester is at the forefront of the fight to rein in Big Money in politics and increase transparency in elections. He’s introduced bills in the Senate to shine a light on the secret, untraceable money funding our elections; put forth a constitutional amendment that strikes at the heart of Citizens United by declaring that corporations are not people; and, most recently, led the fight in the Senate to pass the Freedom to Vote Act. In 2018, Tester’s bipartisan bill, the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act, was signed into law. The bill brought archaic Senate rules into the 21st century by requiring Senate candidates to electronically file campaign finance reports and was estimated to save taxpayers $900,000 annually. In 2022, Tester received an “A” on ECU // LAV’s legislative scorecard on anti-corruption and voting rights efforts.
ECU // LAV is dedicated to combating the two biggest challenges facing our democracy: the corrosive impact of Big Money and attempts to block access to the ballot box. Since its founding in 2015, the group has had over 1 million donors and raised $200 million, with an average donation of just $14. The group has more than four million members nationwide.
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