Our goal is to make sure every American has an equal say in the decisions that affect our lives.
And to move away from a system that prioritizes the wishes of those with concentrated wealth and power. Our strategy to accomplish this goal is to pass and ratify a constitutional amendment by July 4, 2026 — the nation’s 250th birthday. With the support of millions of people across America and across the political spectrum, we are well on our way. Learn more about our strategy and progress, and how you can help achieve this critical reform.
Support for the amendment in Congress is strong and growing with 220 of the 290 needed supporters in the House and 47 of the 67 needed in the Senate. Help us build that number by encouraging the members of Congress who represent you to sign on to the American Promise Candidate Pledge.
We’re on our way across the USA! Through state ballot campaigns and legislative victories, 20 of the 38 states needed to pass an amendment are already on board. Learn how you can help build support in your state through the American Promise Chapter network.
An amendment will correct the 2010 Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court ruling that money is speech, a decision rooted in inequality. Throughout history, Americans have used the amendment process to address Supreme Court decisions that do not reflect our nation’s core principles of equal rights, anti-corruption, and human liberty. Learn more about the 28th Amendment.
The journey toward the 28th Amendment begins with some of the most important U.S. Supreme Court decisions dealing with campaign finance.
Timeline
July 2016
American Promise is founded as a national nonprofit, cross-partisan, grassroots organization that advocates for a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow the U.S. Congress and states to set reasonable limits on campaign spending.
October 2016
American Promise holds its first National Citizen Leadership Conference and presents Congressional Leadership Awards to retired Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA), Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA). The Rev. Katherine Henderson, President of Auburn Theological Seminary, and Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, were also participants.
January 2017
U.S. Senator Tom Udall of Utah reintroduces the Democracy for All amendment aimed at restoring democratic power to the American people and allowing for limits on corporate political spending to get big money out of politics. The legislation gained co-sponsors in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. As Senator Udall stated: “Our Democracy for All Amendment restores the authority of the American people — through Congress and the states — to regulate campaign finance so that our elections aren’t put up for sale to the highest bidder.”
March 2017
After 18 states and over 740 cities and towns nationwide pass 28th Amendment resolutions with cross-partisan support, American Promise CEO & President Jeff Clements provides testimony in Maryland to the Education, Health & Environmental Affairs Committee in support of the 28th Amendment.
November 2017
Over four weeks, American Promise launches four new chapters in four new states. Welcomed into the American Promise family are chapters in Port Clinton, Ohio; Narberth, Pennsylvania; Nashville, Tennessee; and St. Louis, Missouri.
March 2018
The Writing the 28th Amendment Project begins its national tour in Boston as citizen leaders join Rep. Jim McGovern and other constitutional experts for debate and deliberation around the strongest consensus language for the 28th Amendment. The Writing the 28th Amendment Project tour also made stops in St. Louis, Columbus, Ohio, and Washington, D.C.
May 2018
Polling by Voice of the People and the University of Maryland School of Public Policy finds that 75% of Americans — including 66% of Republicans, 85% of Democrats, and 70% of Independents — back a constitutional amendment to limit big money in politics by allowing Congress and the states to regulate campaign finance.
November 2018
With 1,000 volunteers collecting 140,000 signatures, American Promise citizen leaders used the state ballot initiative to create the first-in-the-nation Massachusetts Citizens Commission on a Constitutional Amendment for Government of the People. The 15-member Citizens Commission was approved by 71% of state voters and began its work with a series of hearings where Massachusetts citizens could share their experience of how money in politics affects their lives and what kind of reform they want the amendment to achieve.
December 2018
American Promise CEO & President Jeff Clements and Elizabeth Doty, a member of the American Promise Advisory Council, debate a constitutional amendment to end big money in politics against Bradley Smith, former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, and Floyd Abrams, Senior Counsel at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, at the National Constitution Center.
February 2019
The American Promise chapter Wyoming Promise plays a key role in the successful passage of House Joint Resolution 8, The Free and Fair Elections Resolution, which passes the Wyoming House of Representatives.
June 2019
New Hampshire becomes the 20th state to formally call for an amendment to end big money in politics. With support from American Promise, a grassroots group of citizen advocates known as New Hampshire Voters Restoring Democracy worked with state legislators to call for an end to the corrupting influence of big money in politics.
August 2019
With a mission to unite civically responsible, values-driven business professionals in cross-partisan advocacy to win an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to create a representative democracy and free economy, American Promise launches its National Business Network. Comprised of business professionals including Peter Schwartz, Futurist and Author of The Art of the Long View; Neal Simon, former CEO of Bronfman Rothchild; Lisa Lewin, CEO at General Assembly; and MaryAnn Howland, Founder & CEO of Global Diversity Leadership Exchange, the National Business Network pursues permanent reform to limit out-of-control special interest political spending.
October 2019
Renaldo Pearson, American Promise’s 2019 National Citizen Leadership Conference Citizen Award winner, completes a 700-mile walk from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., to protest and demand an end to political corruption.
November 2019
Recognizing that young Americans are ready to tackle big money as the underlying cause of many long-term challenges, American Promise launches Cause of Our Time, a nationwide network of young people eager and ready to be part of the solution to our broken democracy.
Pulling Presidential Spending 1976-2020
Since the Buckley v. Valeo ruling in 1976, political spending has increased each presidential campaign year — reaching a record $14 billion in the 2020 election cycle.
February 2020
American Promise State Manager Azor Cole, Advisory Council member Elizabeth Doty, and citizen leaders from across the country provide written testimony for a public U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties hearing on the 28th Amendment to get big money out of politics.
April 2020
Led by State Coordinator Vicki Barnes, citizen leaders in collaboration with local elected officials draft a resolution that was introduced by Republican State Senator Scott Jensen in the Minnesota State Senate.
May 2020
The spring elections in Wisconsin result in 17 communities voting in support of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reduce the influence of big money in politics. That makes a total of 163 Wisconsin communities — representing almost 3.2 million people — that have called for an amendment.
June 2020
American Promise becomes the only amendment endorsed in the 2020 report: Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century by the national, nonpartisan Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship. The Commission specifically recognizes American Promise’s leadership in “coordinating efforts to have an amendment passed by 2026.”
June 2020
On the 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Shelby v. Holder, American Promise CEO & President Jeff Clements released a statement saying the result of the Shelby decision “has been gross inequality, corruption of government, crisis and exposure of our democracy to serious erosion.”
September 2020
On Constitution Day 2020, American Promise releases its report Keep the Promise: America250.
September 2020
Ending big money in politics becomes a top issue during a Maine 2020 Senate campaign debate, as all candidates discuss and take positions on the 28th Amendment.
November 2020
Alaska becomes the 21st State to call for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to get big money out of elections.
January 2021
A bipartisan group of representatives including Ted Deutch (D-FL), John Katko (R-NY), Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Jim McGovern (D-MA) introduce federal legislation calling for a constitutional amendment to end unlimited political spending. The Democracy for All Amendment affirms the right of states and the federal government to pass laws that regulate spending in elections, reversing the concentration of political influence held by the wealthiest Americans and large corporations capable of spending billions of dollars in our elections.
January 2021
Virginia becomes the 22nd state to pass legislation supporting efforts for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would set reasonable limits on raising and spending of money to influence elections.
January 2021
Drawing from a variety of political and professional experiences and a range of economic and demographic perspectives, American Promise introduces 12 new members to its Advisory Council.
Read and share Op-Ed’s from Advisory Council members (Col. Wilkerson, Deval Patrick)
February 2021
The American Constitution Society publishes the American Promise issue brief, “A Constitutional Amendment to Revive the Sovereignty of the American People.” The issue brief argues that now is the time for Americans to claim their sovereign rights and advocate for an amendment that will reorient our government’s process so that “we the people” are central.
April 2021
American Promise and Stand with Maine release “Under the Avalanche: Maine’s $200 Million Dollar Senate Race,” an investigative report revealing the levels and sources of big, dark money that flooded into Maine and made the state’s 2020 U.S. Senate campaign the most expensive in its history.
May 2021
American Promise’s Citizen Lobby Day, an annual part of the National Citizen Leadership Conference, arranges over 100 virtual meetings with members of Congress.
June 2021
The American Promise chapter Stand With Maine welcomes 100 new Maine business leaders as supporters of the statewide effort.
July 2021
American Promise returns to in-person events with volunteer efforts underway in multiple states.
