Question #4 and 5 on the Ballot: Vote Yes!

Please VOTE YES on Democracy Amendment QUESTIONS #4 and #5, which call on Congress to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution stating that:

(1) corporations are not entitled to the constitutional rights of human beings, and

(2) both Congress and the states may place limits on political contributions and spending.

During spring town meetings, all six towns on Martha's Vineyard voted in favor of resolutions against the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling that unlimited amounts of money could be spent on elections either directly to candidates or through so-called "SuperPAC's."  We see the results of this egregious ruling on our TV screens every day in attack ads against candidates paid for with huge amounts of money-- more than $1 billion in this election!

The resolutions that we passed on the island and in many other towns and cities across the Commonwealth were in support of Bill S772 at the state level. Following suit this summer, the Massachusetts Legislature (both the Senate and the House) voted nearly unanimously to support a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United ruling.  In addition,  over 20,000 signatures were collected on petitions across the Commonwealth enabling many districts to vote on non-binding ballot questions addressing this issue.  In our Cape and Island district, this will be reflected by Question #4 and #5 on the November 6th ballot. 

Most of us -- Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, Greens-- don't want to limit constitutional rights to living, breathing human beings.  We want to give democracy a chance to survive.  On November 6, we the people can show our direct affirmation of what our legislators have voted their support for, by voting YES on QUESTION #4 and #5.

A YES VOTE on QUESTION #4 and #5 is a vote to restore our democracy and take the influence of big money out of elections.