Last week marked the 151st anniversary of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which declares “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

While the 15th Amendment was objectively good and greatly expanded and protected voting for Black men and other previously excluded groups, there is a common misconception that it grants a universal right to vote.

It does not. There is no universal right to vote in the U.S. Constitution. 

Reformist legislation like H.R.1. are good in that they mitigate corruption and protect and expand voting access in the short term. But it's still playing defense. We need a long game too -- that is why it's critical that we continue to push hard for HJR48, the #WeThePeopleAmendment, in order to have genuine DEMOCRATIC POWER FOR THE PEOPLE.

Forty-five years ago today, the Supreme Court ruled in Buckley v. Valeo (1976) that restrictions on campaign spending were a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

They really said that MONEY, which is PROPERTY, is the same as FREE SPEECH.

Most of us learned about the absurd Supreme Court doctrines of "money = speech" and "corporations are people" in 2010, when the Citizens United ruling came down.

But the Buckley v. Valeo (1976) case that set the "money = speech" precedent was not about corporations -- it was about one individual's belief that campaign finance laws were a violation of his first amendment rights to express himself.

It's important to understand that these two ridiculous doctrines existed long before Citizens United.

Citizens United is a symptom -- it is not the disease.

Despite all of the chaos, we haven't forgotten that it is a brand new Congress!

As we watch the events unfold in the wake of the January 6th riots at the Capitol, we also remain laser-focused on our immediate goal for the first quarter of 2021:

• 100 HOUSE COSPONSORS for the #WeThePeople Amendment
  
  

And we have a solid plan to get it done.

If the Senate fails to convict Donald Trump for spreading falsehoods and inciting the deadly January 6th riots at the Capitol, we won't be surprised. 

We have unfortunately grown accustomed to them not doing their jobs.

But that doesn't change the fact that it is critical that they convict him. Tell your Senators to act swiftly to convict Donald Trump before he leaves office.

From the bottom of our hearts -- thank you so much.

We are blown away at how you all came through for us. After a year like 2020 -- which was terrifying on every level, not excluding the uncertainty that our 100% grassroots-funded organization could survive the economic downturn -- we are so excited to announce that you made sure we met our fundraising goal of $25,000 and then some!!!

Which means we are 100% READY to come out swinging in this new year, to advance the #WeThePeopleAmendment in a new Congress. 

WHAT'S NEXT: Join us for two trainings we are offering in January...

We are ready to go because the fight is more important than it's ever been -- and the time is right. We recognize that this is a unique moment in history -- amid all of the confusion and suffering, movements are rising up everywhere, and coalescing around a larger set of demands for social, economic, and environmental justice. 2020 saw more people in the streets than at any other time in U.S. history. These are the moments where anything is possible, if we all rise up together. 

Count down to the end of 2020 with Move to Amend!

Join us tomorrow -- Wednesday, December 30 at 1pm Pacific/4pm Eastern -- for a special livestream with Move to Amend grassroots volunteers, staff team and board members.

We will be streaming on all our social media channels: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and we hope you'll tune in and join the conversation!

We'll share our successes from this part year, give some real talk about the challenges we have been struggling with, celebrate the wonderful and committed Move to Amend community (which definitely includes you, Kaitlin!) and talk about what we expect in the year ahead (to the extent that anything these days can be planned or expected!).

Those who donate during the livestream will be entered in a raffle to win a Move to Amend t-shirt or water bottle!

Investing in Move to Amend is like a light in the wilderness -- a sure fire way to lift your spirits! 

Our POCLAD friends are worried we aren't going to make our goal for the end of the year so they have pledged to match all contributions to Move to Amend between now and December 31, up to $10,000.

Click here to double the amount of your contribution.