(MintPress) – California’s 18 million registered voters could become the largest political constituency to decide whether to support the 2010 Citizens United States Supreme Court ruling. This decision will open the floodgates for billions in special interest money spent in political races.
After a record $6 billion spent in the 2012 election cycle, Americans have become increasingly opposed to runaway spending by corporations, labor unions and the wealthy elite who are largely dictating the outcome of political races across the country.
California Assemblymember Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) on Wednesday introduced a bill, AB 644, to place a measure on the 2014 state ballot urging Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the 2010 Citizens United ruling.
Following the Citizens United case, the creation of third-party political action committees (PACs) allowed donors to give virtually unlimited funds to advocate on behalf of a political party or political candidate. Sheldon Adelson, a conservative casino magnate and his immediate family gave a record $53.69 million to PACs in the 2012 election cycle.
Adelson, a strong supporter of Israel, gave much of his money to Newt Gingrich during the Republican primaries. Gingrich has been an ardent supporter of Israel, making inflammatory remarks that upset many Palestinian Americans.
“I think that we’ve had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and who were historically part of the Arab community. And they had a chance to go many places, and for a variety of political reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s, and it’s tragic,” said Gingrich during a 2011 interview aired on the Jewish Channel.
In a state with 38 million citizens, decisions on ballot measures carry national significance, influencing voter attitudes and legislation in other states. California ballot decisions have influenced decisions on medicinal marijuana, same-sex marriage and the labelling of genetically modified food.
If successful, California could join Hawaii, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maryland and New Mexico in opposing the Citizens United ruling that 80 percent of the American public already opposes, according to 2011 polling conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post.
Voters in Montana, Colorado and 175 cities, including Chicago and San Francisco, have already passed measures instructing Congress to support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. Only recently has this translated into action in Congress.
Earlier this month, Congressman Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) introduced a landmark constitutional amendment designed to limit campaign spending by corporations and wealthy individuals in U.S. elections. Enacting a constitutional amendment is a lengthy process requiring approval by two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress and approval from state legislatures.
A vote in support of the constitutional amendment in California could build significant momentum for the burgeoning movement of Americans working to rid elections of special interest money by transitioning to more transparent, publicly-funded elections.
The grassroots movement has been led by the Move to Amend coalition which has gathered more than 267,000 signatures in an online campaign. The group is nonpartisan, representing Americans from all political backgrounds.