Alachua County Citizens United Advisory Referendum (November 2014)
| Alachua County Citizens United Referendum | |
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| Type: | Referendum |
| Referred by: | County Commission |
| Topic: | Definition of a corporation |
| Status: | Approved |
An Alachua County Citizens United Advisory Referendum ballot question concerning amending the U.S. Constitution to establish that "Corporations are not People and Money is not Speech" was on the November 4, 2014 election ballot for voters in Alachua County, Florida, where it was approved.
This measure gave voters a chance to say whether they approved or disapproved of amending the U.S. Constitution to establish that corporations are not people and do not have the rights of a person with regard to campaign contributions and free speech and to establish that money is not speech, thus excluding campaign contributions and spending from first amendment constitutional protection. This measure was a non-binding, advisory referendum that did not directly enact any legislation or change any laws.[1]
On February 11, 2014, the Alachua County Commission, urged by the group Move to Amend Gainesville, voted three against two to put the referendum on the ballot.[2] Commissioner Mike Byerly said, “This issue powerfully affects government at all levels. I think this is the political issue of our times.”[1]
Election results
| Alachua County Citizens United Advisory Referendum | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| 53,025 | 71.51% | |||
| No | 21,121 | 28.49% | ||
- Election results from the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections
Background
In 2012, a similar referendum was proposed but it received a three to two vote from the commission at that time in opposition to the measure, thereby preventing it from appearing on the 2012 ballot. Commissioners Susan Baird and Lee Pinkoson, who repeated their dissent in 2014, were, along with former Commissioner Winston Bradley, the three "no" votes in 2012.[1]
In the years since the Citizens United case, several local measures have been put on the ballot to show voter support for amending the U.S. Constitution to establish that corporations do not have the same rights as individuals regarding campaign contributions. In 2012, five measures were on local ballots in California, which were all approved. Two local measures in Wisconsin and one from Los Angeles were approved in 2013, and the city of Berkeley placed a similar measure on the November 4, 2014, ballot. For a full list of similar measures, click here.
Citizens United decision
The movement to amend the U.S. Constitution to remove corporations and money from first amendment protections followed a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case, which interpreted the first amendment to allow unlimited spending by unions, organizations and corporations in political candidate campaigns.[1]
Text of measure
The question on the ballot:[3]
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Should the Constitution of the United States of America be amended to provide that only human beings, and not corporations, labor unions and other artificial entities, are endowed with constitutional rights, and that money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech? (quote) |
” |
Support
Move to Amend Gainesville requested the County Commission to place the referendum question on the ballot.[4]
Supporters
- Move to Amend Gainesville[2]
Commissioners
The following commissioners voted to put the referendum on the ballot:
Move to Amend’s “Legalize Democracy” film.
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- Commissioner Mike Byerly
- Commissioner Charles Chestnut, IV
- Commissioner Robert Hutchinson
Arguments in favor
Commissioner Chestnut said, "It's a straw poll. It's not binding. One of the most important things that came to mind is 'what about the little guy?' It becomes an issue between haves and have-nots. Corporations can raise a lot of money. They can create PACs … So, what about the individual. I think the Founding Fathers wanted individuals to have rights, not corporations.”[1]
Move to Amend Gainesville communications director Harry Patterson said, "It needs to be on the ballot because rights of people to control their government and the electoral process have been subverted by money.”[1]
On its website, the national group Move to Amend stated, "We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United and other related cases, and move to amend our Constitution to firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights. The Supreme Court is misguided in principle, and wrong on the law. In a democracy, the people rule."[5]
Opposition
Opponents
Commissioners
The following commissioners voted against putting the referendum on the ballot:
- County Commissioner Susan Baird
- County Commissioner Lee Pinkoson
Arguments against
Commissioner Pinkoson expressed concern that adding the referendum to the ballot would put pressure on the commission to approve other non-binding referendums on other issues.[1]
Pinkoson said, “I'm not going to support it tonight because we open up the door to anyone else who comes in. If we do a straw vote, all it will do ultimately is create some confusion to some people that we've done something when in fact all we've done is taken a straw vote. If we really want to have an effect, we need to get it on the federal agenda, because that's the way it has to be done.”[1]
Commissioner Baird said, “I honestly don't think we need to be involved in this right now. I definitely vote strongly against this.”[1]
An Alachua County resident named Gene Keith said, concerning the vote of the commissioners, “I wish it were 3-2 the other way. It's already decided by the Supreme Court. We don't have the time and money to waste on that when we have so many other issues.”[1]
Path to the ballot
Responding to lobbying from the Gainesville branch of the group Move to Amend and a resolution from the Gainesville City Commission requesting the county commission to give the referendum a place on the ballot, the county commission voted to put this non-binding referendum before voters on November 4, 2014. There were two dissenting county commissioners, Susan Baird and Lee Pinkoson.[2][1]
Related measures
- City of Berkeley Citizens United Advisory Referendum: "Corporations are not People, Money is not Speech," Measure P (November 2014)
- Alachua County Citizens United Advisory Referendum: "Corporations are not People, Money is not Speech" (November 2014)
Similar measures
2013
- City of Los Angeles Limits to Campaign Spending and Rights of Corporations, Measure C (May 2013)
- Fort Atkinson City Corporate Personhood & Campaign Contribution Rights Question (April 2013)
- Whitewater City Corporate Personhood & Campaign Contribution Rights Question (April 2013)
2012
- City of Arcata Corporations Are Not People, Measure H (November 2012)
- City of Chico Corporations Are Not Entitled to Political Free Speech, Measure K (November 2012)
- City of Richmond Advisory Measure on the Definition of a Corporation, Measure P (November 2012)
- Mendocino County Definition of a Corporation, Measure F (November 2012)
- San Francisco Repeal of the Notion of Corporate Personhood, Proposition G (November 2012)
See also
External links
Support
- Move to Amend Gainesville website
- Move To Amend website
- United 4 the People website
- Move to Amend Gainesville Facebook page
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 The Gainesville Sun, "Nonbinding referendum on Citizens United to be on November ballot," February 11, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Move to Amend Gainesville website," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ Alachua County Elections Office website, "November 4, 2014, Election Sample Ballot," archived October 8, 2014
- ↑ Alachua County Board of Commissioners, “February 11, 2014 Regular BoCC Meeting,” February 11, 2014
- ↑ Move to Amend, "Homepage," accessed October 8, 2014
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