As Senate Vote Looms, Poll Shows Strong Support Across Party Lines for Constitutional Amendment to Curb Money in Politics
Voters Reject Arguments Against Amendment; Senate Votes Sept. 8

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Voters across party lines overwhelmingly oppose the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling and strongly support a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision and curb the influence of money in politics, a new bipartisan poll shows. When provided a short description of the amendment, which is scheduled for a Senate vote on Sept. 8, Republicans support the amendment by a roughly two-to-one margin. Notably, voters reject arguments against the amendment by wide margins.

The poll was commissioned by Public Citizen and conducted by Lake Research Partners, a Democratic polling firm, and Chesapeake Beach Consulting, a Republican polling firm. The firms conducted a live telephone survey of 800 likely voters between July 26 and July 29. The numbers of Democrats, Republicans and independents polled reflected the proportions of projected likely national 2014 voters from each of those parties. The poll’s margin of error is +/- 3.5 percent.

“It’s time for Congress to act on the people’s demand for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and restore our democracy,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. “This poll shows that the public, including Republican voters, forcefully rejects arguments from Senator Mitch McConnell and Senator Ted Cruz in defense of the status quo.”

“The context is really ripe for this amendment, which voters view as a solution to the out-of-control spending in elections, particularly by lobbyists and special interests,” said Celinda Lake, Democratic pollster and president of Lake Research Partners. “Voters are fed up with the influence of money in politics, and we see high energy levels for campaign finance reform across party lines. This is a truly bipartisan issue that candidates not only can safely promote, but can benefit greatly from taking on.”

Question Text: The constitutional amendment aims to overturn and do away with Citizens United and other
related Supreme Court campaign finance decisions. It gives elected representatives the ability to pass laws that
regulate and limit campaign spending. The amendment makes clear that money does NOT equal free speech,
and allows limits on how much money can be spent on elections. Would you favor or oppose an amendment to
the United States constitution to overturn and do away with Citizens United and other related campaign finance
decisions, or are you not sure?