Are you a billionaire? No? You still deserve a voice in our politics. Yet ordinary Vermonters are being drowned out by outside money flooding our elections. A record $1.9 billion was spent by dark money groups in the 2024 federal elections, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
We have the Supreme Court to thank for this. Its decisions have allowed individuals, corporations and foreign interests to spend vast sums influencing elections.
Our neighbors in Maine supported a ballot initiative with 86% of voters in favor of banning foreign election spending, yet the courts blocked it. Today, only 17% of Americans trust the federal government to do right by them, according to Pew Research Center.
Vermont knows something about floods. In 1927 and again in 2011, our state was hit with terrible natural disasters: roads washed out, properties demolished, communities cut off and lives lost. Vermonters have rebuilt with our own hands and grit, living up to our nickname as the “Brave Little State.”
As we mark 250 years of independence, that resilience is needed again. This time the flood isn’t water; it’s money washing out the voice of the average voter. Vermont was one of the first states to call for a constitutional amendment reining in money’s grip on elections, and at least 22 states have now joined us.
We’ve amended our Constitution to protect self-government before. Let’s show that brave little spirit again. I urge my fellow Vermonters to talk with our representatives about how to make this amendment a reality.
Amanda Chaulk
South Burlington, Vt.
