Former Senator Alan Simpson and former Governor Dave Freudenthal among the citizen sponsors of an initiative calling for a 28th Amendment
Cheyenne, WY – Two hundred and eighty-one Wyoming citizens have “sponsored” an initiative to call for a 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to allow the people and legislature to enact legislation promoting free and fair elections. Among the citizen sponsors are former Senator Alan Simpson and former Governor Dave Freudenthal.
Wyoming Promise, a grassroots, citizen-led organization, collected and submitted the list of sponsors to the Wyoming Secretary of State, the final step before the Secretary can certify the initiative. Once that certification is given, Wyoming citizens will have until February 12, 2018 to submit 38,818 valid signatures in order for the initiative to appear on the November 2018 general election ballot.
“We are thrilled that we were able to get so many sponsors in such a short time. That probably reflects the energy that has built up in support of getting dark money out of politics,” says Kenneth Chestek, chair of Wyoming Promise.
In a letter to Wyoming citizens, former Senator Alan Simpson calls on Wyoming citizens to stand “firmly on the right side of this fight for the future of our democracy” and he urges them to “support a 28th Amendment to the Constitution so we can have reasonable limits on election spending, reform pay-to-play politics, and secure human liberty and equal representation rather than turn our government over to a global corporate marketplace.”
The initiative would call on Congress to propose a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution specifying that the right of political speech is a right enjoyed only by natural persons, and that the proposed amendment to the United States Constitution to specify that Congress and state legislatures may regulate all moneys raised and spent for political purposes, whether from artificial persons or natural persons, including by prohibiting artificial persons from political spending. If Congress fails to propose a 28th Amendment, the act would call for a limited convention of states to propose that amendment.
“Wyoming could be next state in the drive to renew our national commitment to a government of and for the people,” says Jeff Clements, the President and co-founder of American Promise. “American Promise is leading a 50-state citizen movement for the 28th Amendment so the American people, not money, govern. What the citizens of Wyoming are doing inspires us and Americans everywhere,” says Clements.
So far 18 states and over 740 cities and towns have passed 28th Amendment resolutions with cross-partisan support. In Montana and Colorado, voters have approved 28th Amendment ballot initiatives by 75-25%. In November, Washington State became the 18th State to call for the 28th Amendment, with a voter initiative passing by wide margins in every region and every Congressional district of the state.
Wyoming Promise is a local, volunteer-led, organization dedicated to calling for a 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would overturn Citizens United vs. FEC through a statewide ballot initiative. We believe the campaign finance reform is the only way we the people–not corporations, not special interests, not unions–can bring back democracy and govern ourselves. To learn more about Wyoming Promise visit www.WyomingPromise.org
American Promise, a national non-partisan, non-profit organization is supporting citizen led initiatives like Wyoming Promise in 50 states with one goal: winning the 28th Amendment to get big money out of politics. American Promise inspires, empowers, and organizes Americans from across the political spectrum to build support for the 28th Amendment community by community, state by state, to drive the Amendment out of Congress and to the States for ratification. To learn more about American Promise visit www.AmericanPromise.net
