Working in Maryland so that all citizens have equal access to the ballot and an equal say in governance. We are an all-volunteer force of citizens demanding full voting rights for every citizen and fair regulation of money in politics. Constitutional rights are for human beings only.
Get Money Out does not endorse or oppose candidates for office. We provide information on which candidates and legislators support election reform legislation.
The Democracy Amendment Resolution is SJ 1, by Paul Pinsky and 19 other senators. View the hearing of February 14 (starting at 2:20:00).
In the House of Delegates, it is HJ 2, by Tawanna Gaines and 74 other delegates. The hearing will be Monday, March 4 in the House Rules Committee.
The Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee voted UNFAVORABLE on SJ 1 on March 8. This action kills the Democracy Amendment Resolution for 2019. The following senators voted UNFAVORABLE: Kagan, Lam, Bailey, Carozza, Ellis, and Patterson. |
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Click here for the latest on GMOM's campaign and what's happening in the national fight for fair elections:
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For interesting stories on fair elections, Constitutional rights, and money in politics, check out our GMOM Blog.
How "We the People" will amend the Constitution:
Corporations are not "people," money is not "speech," and all citizens must be guaranteed the right to vote
GMOM (Get Money Out – Maryland) is working to get the Maryland legislature to pass a joint resolution formally calling for a Convention of the States (or "Article V Convention") to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution for free and fair elections, which would overturn Citizens United v. FEC and related cases. When two-thirds of the states do likewise, the convention must be convened.
Citizens United v. FEC is the disastrous 2010 Supreme Court decision which ruled that corporations cannot be limited in the amount they spend on elections. Citizens United is the most well-known of a string of bad decisions by the Court going back more than 40 years and continuing after 2010. These decisions bestow constitutional rights on artificial entities such as for-profit and non-profit corporations and unions, even though these entities were created by legislatures and could be abolished by legislatures. The decisions also seem to equate the spending of money with "freedom of speech," thus allowing business corporations and ultra-wealthy individuals to drown out the voices of "We the People" by paying for campaign messaging. The decisions overturn both state and federal laws.
Because the Supreme Court has declared regulation of campaign spending unconstitutional - and because the court can continue to erode existing and future campaign finance laws - a Democracy Amendment to the U. S. Constitution is essential. We believe that citizens all across the nation must organize and mobilize to win this 28th Amendment.
Article V of the U.S. Constitution allows an amendment to be proposed either by Congress or by an amendment-proposing convention. If two-thirds of the states (34 states) petition for a convention, Congress is mandated to convene one. At the convention, delegates sent by the states would try to reach agreement on the language of a proposed amendment
No matter how the amendment is proposed, three-fourths of states (38) must ratify for the amendment to come into effect.
GMOM works with members of the Maryland Congressional delegation on resolutions pending in Congress; however, there is currently no will in Congress to move forward. Nineteen (19) states and over 800 localities have already passed resolutions calling on Congress to propose such an amendment. But resolutions by state legislatures for an amendment-proposing convention have more impact, especially as the number of states doing so mounts towards 34.
As of May 2018, five states have filed the necessary resolution for a convention - Vermont, California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. We are working to make Maryland the sixth state - and we have great momentum
Most federal legislators won their seats by raising extraordinary sums from special interests in this blatantly corrupt system. Thus, tragically, we have already lost our democracy at the federal level. Happily most state legislatures are still responsive, for now, to the democratic process and popular pressure. Here are some of the advantages of the approach we are taking with the Democracy Amendment Resolution.
- Builds a movement through easily understandable and achievable victories along the way. Citizens can see how actions could lead to fundamental change. This is why GMOM has grown from six people to a network of over 7,000 based solely on voluntary participation.
- Most effective way to move Congress. Four times during the 20th century, campaigns for an amendments convention have led Congress to put forward amendments that were ratified.
- Lays the groundwork for ratification by building organizations in the states and developing relationships between reformers and state legislators. When the 28th Amendment is proposed, by whatever route, this work will already have been done.
Have fun as you make change with fellow Marylanders
Maryland had more than 100 state legislators supporting passage of a "Democracy Amendment" Resolution during the 2018 General Assembly session. Here are ways you can help us make it one of the first states to formally call for an Article V Convention for free and fair elections.
- E-mail us at charlie@GetMoneyOutMD.org
- Check out our Facebook Page
- And TAKE ACTION NOW!
