Democracy for All Amendment
Would let Congress and the states set reasonable limits on raising and spending money in elections. The Senate version, S.J.Res. 43, had 36 original cosponsors; the House version, H.J.Res. 121, had 31.89
558 U.S. 310Jan 21, 2010 decided 5 to 4
What Is Citizens United?
A 2010 Supreme Court ruling that lets corporations spend as much as they want on elections. Super PACs soon let billionaires do the same.
The Ruling
What the Court Decided
Citizens United v. FEC · Jan 21, 2010 · 5 to 4
Corporations Can Now Spend Unlimited Money to Get the Politicians They Want Elected.
How One Case Changed Every Election
In 2008, a group called Citizens United made a 90-minute film attacking Hillary Clinton and wanted it on cable before the primaries. Federal law said corporations couldn’t pay for election ads that close to a vote.2
Five justices threw that law out. Spending money to win an election became protected speech. Corporations and the groups they fund can now spend without limit, as long as they don’t coordinate with the campaign.2
Two months later, a lower court used the ruling to create the super PAC.3
The Vote
Oyez5 for
- KennedyWrote the rulingReagan
- RobertsWrote a concurrenceG.W. Bush
- ScaliaWrote a concurrenceReagan
- ThomasAlso against disclosureG.H.W. Bush
- AlitoJoinedG.W. Bush
4 against
- StevensWrote the dissentFord
- GinsburgJoined the dissentClinton
- BreyerJoined the dissentClinton
- SotomayorJoined the dissentObama
What Followed
What Came Next
- 2010Citizens United v. FECJanuary. Corporations and unions may spend without limit on independent ads.
- 2010SpeechNow.org v. FECMarch. The D.C. Circuit strikes contribution limits for groups that only spend independently. Super PACs follow that summer.
- 2014McCutcheon v. FECApril. The Supreme Court ends the cap on how much one person can give to all candidates and parties combined.
- 2026NRSC v. FECJune. The Court strikes limits on how much parties can spend in coordination with their candidates.5
- 2026Texas Senate raceAbout $380M in outside money, with roughly $300M of it behind one side.1
Undoing It
How We Undo It
25 States on Record
American Promise counts 25 states that have formally asked Congress to send an amendment to the states. Ratifying one takes 38.10
A Different Court
The Court overruled its own precedents to decide Citizens United, so a future Court could do the same. For now it is moving the other way, as NRSC v. FEC showed this June.5
What You Can Do
Three Things That Help
Vote for Clean Candidates
Our guides mark the candidate on your ballot who takes the least corporate and special-interest money.
Back the Pledge
Integrity Index tracks which candidates refuse corporate PAC money and grades every member of Congress.
Push for the Amendment
Ask your members of Congress to cosponsor the Democracy for All Amendment, and back your state's resolution through American Promise.
Sources
Every Number, Sourced
- 1Votelog, Texas Senate outside money, through Oct 25, 2026
- 2Citizens United v. FEC, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), syllabus, Cornell LII
- 3SpeechNow.org v. FEC (D.C. Cir. 2010), FEC
- 4McCutcheon v. FEC, 572 U.S. 185 (2014), Cornell LII
- 5NRSC v. FEC (2026), Covington
- 6FEC filings, outside spending by cycle, all groups except parties and candidates, totaled by us through Nov 1, 2026 (our math)
- 7Brennan Center, Citizens United explained, citing OpenSecrets
- 8Public Citizen, Senate Democracy for All Amendment, Mar 2025
- 9H.J.Res. 121, 119th Congress, GovInfo
- 10American Promise, state resolutions