Dear Editor,
I am a freshman from Lake Region Union High School in the Northeast Kingdom. I’m 14, and elections have changed dramatically since I was born.
Fifteen years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision allowed both nonprofit and for-profit corporations to spend unlimited money in elections by recognizing corporate political spending as protected speech under the First Amendment.
Since then, billions of dollars — much of it from large, out-of-state corporations and wealthy donors — have flowed into state and local races across the country, drowning out the voices of regular voters and putting the power of the vote in jeopardy.
According to the Center for American Progress, a progressive policy research organization, the reported independent expenditures of outside groups exploded by more than 28-fold from 2008 to 2024, from $144 million to $4.21 billion.
And now there is something we can do about it. Companion bills, sometimes called the Corporate Power Reset bills, have been introduced in the Vermont Legislature in both the House and Senate to bypass Citizens United.
Importantly, the proposed bills do not directly regulate speech or campaign spending. Instead, they take a straightforward states’ rights approach: Vermont would simply stop granting its own nonprofit and for-profit corporations the power to spend money on candidate elections or ballot initiatives.
Because corporations operating in Vermont are subject to Vermont corporate law, supporters say the proposed change would also limit the ability of out-of-state corporate entities to use Vermont corporations for political spending.
This is a limited, commonsense reform that protects Vermont elections, reinforces local control, and ensures that political influence is earned by persuading voters — not by writing the biggest check.
Nonprofit and for-profit corporations can continue to exercise their free speech by endorsing candidates and lobbying for bills they support. This gives corporations time to focus on what they do best — running their businesses.
The people of Vermont need to spread the word. It is important that your local representatives and senators hear from you, and we need as many people as possible to send letters about it, urging them to vote for the bill and publicly support it. With the power of the vote in danger, the people need to step up. The time to act is now.
Iso Bock,
Glover, Vt.
