Today, the Supreme Court hears arguments in a pivotal case on union rights inFriedrichs v. California Teachers Association. If they decide on behalf of the plaintiffs, the justices would overturn a 1977 Supreme Court decision allowing public sector unions to collect fair share fees from all employees to help pay for the costs associated with collective bargaining.
Until voters and elected leaders in Baltimore, Maryland took action to bring small donor public financing to their elections, big money in politics was a growing problem in the city.
Judge Neil Gorsuch is no champion for democracy, and his record on money in politics suggests he would continue the Court’s trajectory of expanding the power of the donor class.
Chiraag Bains, Director of Legal Strategies for Demos
“Do you believe that the Constitution requires that we allow corporations and wealthy individuals the unfettered ability to translate their economic might into political power through campaign contributions and expenditures—even if it drowns out the voices of working-class Americans and erects barriers to candidates of color who lack access to big money and the mostly white donor class?”
By empowering people who would not otherwise be among an elite Seattle donor class, the Democracy Voucher program fosters the political agency of the people of Seattle.