How 600,000 People Broke Big Money's Grip On Power

image
Published: 14 Nov, 2016
1 min read

This election was historic for the movement to break big money’s grip on our political system. On November 8, 2016, voters in South Dakota passed the first-ever statewide Anti-Corruption Act. This ballot initiative was led by Represent.Us volunteers and members.

In San Francisco, a Represent.Us volunteer-led coalition passed a new law to stop lobbyists from bribing politicians. It passed by one of the widest margins of any law in San Francisco history.

In two Illinois counties, conservatives and progressives worked together to pass Anti-Corruption Resolutions calling for tough new statewide Anti-Corruption Acts.

In cities and counties in Oregon, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Rhode Island and California, Represent.Us members and our partners helped voters pass initiatives that make government more accountable to the people and strip power away from big money special interests.

This is actually a really big deal

I cannot overstate how important the victory in South Dakota, alongside nearly a dozen victories led by our members and partners across the country, is for the anti-corruption movement. Fixing our corrupt political system would unlock progress on nearly every issue that is currently stuck in state capitals and Washington, DC. And the dominos are beginning to fall. First Tallahassee, then Seattle and the state of Maine, and now 10+ victories this year led by an expanding coalition of organizations.

Continue Reading the Article Here.

Editor's note: This article originally published on Represent.us. Republished with permission.

You Might Also Like

Trump sitting in the oval office with a piece of paper with a cannabis leaf on his desk.
Is Trump About to Outflank Democrats on Cannabis? Progressives Sound the Alarm
As President Donald Trump signals renewed interest in reclassifying cannabis from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III, a policy goal long championed by liberals and libertarians, the reaction among some partisan progressive advocates is not celebration, but concern....
08 Dec, 2025
-
5 min read
Malibu, California.
From the Palisades to Simi Valley, Independent Voters Poised to Decide the Fight to Replace Jacqui Irwin
The coastline that defines California’s mythology begins here. From Malibu’s winding cliffs to the leafy streets of Brentwood and Bel Air, through Topanga Canyon and into the valleys of Calabasas, Agoura Hills, and Thousand Oaks, the 42nd Assembly District holds some of the most photographed, most coveted, and most challenged terrain in the state. ...
10 Dec, 2025
-
6 min read
Ranked choice voting
Ranked Choice for Every Voter? New Bill Would Transform Every Congressional Election by 2030
As voters brace for what is expected to be a chaotic and divisive midterm election cycle, U.S. Representatives Jamie Raskin (Md.), Don Beyer (Va.), and U.S. Senator Peter Welch (Vt.) have re-introduced legislation that would require ranked choice voting (RCV) for all congressional primaries and general elections beginning in 2030....
10 Dec, 2025
-
3 min read