Fifteen years ago, the US Supreme Court handed down its Citizens United decision, opening the floodgates for unlimited corporate spending in elections.

The consequences have been dire. Corporations and wealthy special interests have been able to spend billions to influence elections, drowning out the voices of everyday Americans. Here in Ohio, we are painfully aware of how dark money fosters corruption! 

Take Action: Tell your Ohio lawmakers to shine a light on dark money

WATCH THIS SHORT EXPLAINER  VIDEO ABOUT CITIZENS UNITED FEATURING LISA GRAVES FROM TRUE NORTH RESEARCH. 

In 2010, the court’s decision seemed incomprehensible. It was and is clearly nonsensical and outrageous to give corporations the same Free Speech rights as human beings. 

“While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.” ~ Justice John Paul Stevens’ Citizens United v. FEC dissent 

What we didn’t expect in 2010 was how much of the newly unleashed flood of money would be “dark” – its sources carefully hidden. After all, an overwhelming majority (8-1) in Citizens United v. FEC emphasized the importance and constitutionality of transparency:

“… prompt disclosure of expenditures can provide shareholders and citizens with the information needed to hold corporations and elected officials accountable for their positions and supporters.”

Unfortunately, in the 15 years since the Citizens United decision, neither Congress nor the Ohio General Assembly have created policies that would allow us to follow the money and figure out exactly who is paying for what in campaigns. Dark money enabled the Householder/House Bill 6 scheme to flourish. Those bribes and machinations simply couldn’t have happened if the conspirators hadn’t been free to operate behind a veil of secrecy. 

We continue to learn more about the HB6 scheme: in fact, there were two major developments just last week: Two former FirstEnergy executives were charged with racketeering by the the Justice Department, and the SEC announced that American Electric Power—which has managed to fly under the radar until now—has agreed to pay $19 million as a result of their $1.2 million dark money payments in the corruption scheme. 

Enough is enough! We have been waiting much too long. It’s time for the state legislature to take action and ensure that this kind of corruption is no longer possible . 

TELL YOUR OHIO LAWMAKERS TO SHINE A LIGHT ON DARK MONEY 

We know Ohio’s HB6 scandal is ridiculously complicated. But don’t worry, Common Cause Ohio has you covered! In addition to the substantial HB6 resources available on our website, we put together this one page summary: House Bill 6 by the Numbers. 

We need your help distributing printed copies of our overview. Do you have an event coming up where you want to share this flier? Send an email to cturcer@commoncause.org and we’ll send you materials in the mail. 

It’s important to reflect today on the impact of Citizens United, but make sure that you also take action!