For Immediate Release
DATE: June 4, 2018
CONTACT: Press@AmericanPromise.net, 202-420-9947
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Citizens from across the country have joined forces with Common Cause, American Promise, Take Back Our Republic, Represent Us and Fix It America to personally deliver a message from the New Mexico State legislature to Congress. Specifically, that the Fix It America Constitutional Amendment embodies what most Americans believe when it comes to the role of money in our democracy and the importance of non-partisan district lines in the electoral process.
“The legislature of the great state of New Mexico is following the lead of voters in our state seeking bold, comprehensive political reform to restore balance to our democracy,” said New Mexico Common Cause Executive Director Viki Harrison. The representatives of the people of New Mexico are ready and waiting to ratify the 28th Amendment. We are proud to be a part of this historic grassroots movement.”
“These issues have broad cross-partisan support,” added Jeff Clements, President of American Promise. “The Fix It America procession, complete with flags waving, bagpipers playing and citizens marching, will kick off our ‘Citizen’s Lobbying Day’. People have come from across the country to ask their representatives to sponsor and pass the 28th Amendment and other legislation that will address the influence of money in our political system.”
“The Fix It America Amendment is simple and it contains the underlying principles of fairness that most of us agree with.” Said John Pudner, Executive Director of Take Back Our Republic and former campaign operative famous for ousting Eric Cantor in the Republican Primary. “All sides of the aisle, Republicans, Democrats, and independents, have been searching for something tangible that we can do to address money in politics and redistricting. New Mexico is just the beginning. We are already working in numerous state legislatures with partners willing to put aside partisan debates for this crucial attempt to pre-ratify the Amendment.”
“Fairness is not a partisan issue,” agreed Represent Us co-founder, Josh Silver. “We work every day to pass state and local ballot initiatives (‘the Anti-Corruption Act’) to improve the system today. But, we recognize that recent Supreme Court decisions stand in the way of many efforts to change how money works in elections and governance. We are proud to join the March on Congress.”
“People are taking to the streets, organizing, and engaging with democracy in numbers we haven’t seen in decades, demanding that elected officials hear our voices and act on voters’ priorities,” said Karen Hobert Flynn, President of Common Cause. “The innovation of pre-ratifying this amendment is a rare opportunity to help guide our country toward a better democratic future and reminds us that by working together we can restore balance and create a democracy that works for all of us.”
“And, we hope you will join us,” added American Promise Founder Jeff Clements. “We will gather on the eastern steps of the US Capitol building at 8:00 am on Monday, June 25th with flags representing each of our partner organizations. Then, we will march directly to the Hart Senate Office building and deliver the 28th Amendment to New Mexico’s Congressional delegation.”
The Amendment was drafted over two years with input from citizens, legislators, former administration officials and Constitutional law scholars from all sides of the political spectrum.
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Text of the Fix It America Constitutional Amendment:
Section I. Congress and The States shall regulate the role of money in elections and governance to ensure transparency, prevent corruption, and protect against the buying of access to or influence over representatives. No such reasonable regulation shall be deemed in violation of freedom of speech rights in the Constitution of the United States or its Amendments.
Section II. Legislative districts or districting plans shall not intentionally or unduly favor or disfavor any political party.
