Support I-735--comment on legislation now being considered

[eridani]

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=735

Please comment before 9 am Thursday Feb 11, which is the hearing time for the committee.
Thanks.

Note--pick an issue or two and comment on relevant legislation every session--a good way to participate in the process.

[eridani]

1. Editorial: Big-money politics has damaged our democracy

http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/big-money-politics-has-damaged-our-democracy/

At first glance, big money-politics can look like an unstoppable juggernaut. In each election since the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision, super PACs and outside special-interest groups have broken fundraising records. In today’s presidential race, they’re likely to do the same. According to a recent report by The New York Times, just 158 families funded half of all early campaign money in campaigns for the 2016 presidential nominations. Under Citizens United, courting wealthy mega-donors — who often have different priorities and policy preferences than most voters — has taken precedence over appealing to everyday Americans.

Big-money politics has damaged our democracy. But across the country, Americans are standing up for and winning reforms. In state after state, voters and legislators have passed legislation supporting an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would overturn Citizens United and allow for reasonable limits on big-money politics. Sixteen states and nearly 700 communities nationwide have called for an amendment to overturn the decision.

Here in Washington, the movement for reform is alive and well. Over the past eight months, hundreds of people took to streets across the state to gather more than 337,000 signatures for Initiative 735, which would make Washington the 17th state to call for an amendment to overturn Citizens United. In November, Seattle voters overwhelmingly supported Honest Elections Seattle, a first-in-the-nation program that will provide all registered voters in the city with democracy vouchers, incentivizing candidates to speak to constituents rather than special interests to fund their campaigns.