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

Buckley v. Valeo, 1976
First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, 1978
Ruled that states cannot prohibit corporations from contributing money to ballot proposals.
Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, 1990
Ruled that corporations must keep a separate account from which they can make political contributions, usually by establishing a political action committee.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 2010
Ruled that states cannot place limits on the amount of money that corporations, unions, or political action committees use for electioneering communications, as long as the group does not directly align itself with a candidate.
McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, 2014
Ruled that states can place a limit on how much any individual or group contributes to any one campaign, but cannot impose aggregate limits on how much an individual or group contributes to all campaigns during an election cycle.
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.
May 2017
Nevada becomes the 19th state to call for the 28th Amendment when its State Assembly passes SJR 4, urging Congress to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to allow the regulation of independent political expenditures by corporations.
October 2017
The American Promise chapter in Tampa Bay, Florida, leadership advocates for the St. Petersburg City Council to approve an ordinance that would abolish Super PACs and limit spending by corporations who take money from foreign donors. Approved by a vote of 6-2, the ordinance is the result of civic engagement, and is a testament to the fact that when people engage in the democratic process, common-sense policies will follow.
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.
June 2018
Bill Moyers, an award-winning journalist and best-selling author, delivers a keynote speech at the American Promise 2018 National Citizen Leadership Conference. Moyers tells the assembled audience: “You are fighting for the third emancipation in American history. The first emancipated slaves from bondage. The second emancipated African Americans from the tyranny of a Jim Crow noose and Jim Crow laws. And now the third great emancipation is to free our democracy from the grip of big money.”
June 2018
Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School join citizen leaders and lawmakers at NCLC to participate in a panel discussion on the connection between money in politics and inaction on gun control matters that have broad public support.
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
Led by State Coordinator Ishwari Sollohub, the American Promise chapter in Santa Fe, New Mexico, spearheaded the movement that led to approval by the Santa Fe County Commission of a resolution in support of the 28th Amendment.
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.
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.
March 2020
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, American Promise citizen leaders from the healthcare industry release a statement highlighting how lobbying influences policy that affects patients’ quality of care and why they’re echoing a call for a constitutional amendment to limit political spending.
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.”
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.
April 2021
Spiral of Silence, a short film by Independent Spirit Award nominee Noah Hutton, debuts on American Promise’s Facebook page. The video shows how Americans can break big money’s grip on government.
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.