Move to Amend (MTA) is a coalition of hundreds of left-of-center organizations that advocates for wealth redistributionist policies, social and racial justice initiatives, and the restriction of political donations. It opposes the landmark 2011 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC, contending that political contributions are not speech and should not be protected by First Amendment rights.

The group advocates passage of a constitutional amendment to restrict election-related speech activity by overturning First Amendment protections for associational and corporate speech.

Formation

Move to Amend was formed in September 2009. It is a coalition of left-of-center organizations that advocates for wealth redistributionist policies, social and racial justice initiatives, and the restriction of political donations. It opposes the landmark 2011 Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case, contending that political contributions are not speech and should not be protected by First Amendment rights. ¹

Signatories of the “Motion to Amend,” a document outlining the founding aims of the organization, expressing opposition to the Court’s ruling, and supporting restrictions on election-related speech activity, include individuals affiliated with various left-of-center organizations. Signers included Ben Manski, the executive director of Liberty Tree; Brett Bursey, the executive director of the South Carolina Progressive Network; Chris Kromm, the executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies; Dean Myerson, executive director of the Green Institute; Jackie Cabasso, executive director of the Western States Legal Foundation; John Rensenbrink, president of the Green Horizon Foundation; Jonathan Frieman, the co-founder of the Center for Corporate Policy; and Lisa Graves, the executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy. ²

Viewpoint

Move to Amend purports to value transparency, movement building, “political and economic independence,” and “commitment to anti-oppression within ourselves, communities, workplaces, policies, and representation.” While it welcomes organizations to apply for coalition membership, it also warns that it will suspend membership to any organization that refuses to meet its ideological standards. ³ It specifically named Exxon and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as entities that were spending “billions of dollars of campaign aids” that had “drowned” citizens’ free speech rights. ⁴

Proposals

Move to Amend advocates the proposed “We The People Amendment,” a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would limit otherwise First Amendment-protected election-related speech activity. The proposed amendment would explicitly draw a distinction with regard to the Constitution’s protection of rights between “natural persons” and “artificial entities,” such as private corporations. Additionally, the article calls for the regulation, limitation, or prohibition of political campaign contributions and expenditures, including a given candidate’s own contributions, to ensure that individuals “have access to the political process” regardless of “economic status.” ⁵

A bill proposing this amendment (H.J. Res.48) was introduced by Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) on May 5, 2021 during the 117^th Congress and was thereafter referred to the United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. ⁶ In the 117^th Congress, 94 members had agreed to cosponsor the Resolution, all of them members of the Democratic Party. ⁷

Move to Amend encouraged supports to reach out to their representative’s office and persuade them to cosponsor the resolution, providing instructions on how to do so. ⁸

Another proposed amendment supported by Move to Amend is the Democracy for All Amendment introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) on January 9, 2023. ⁹ It would authorize Congress and states to “(1) regulate and impose reasonable viewpoint-neutral limitations on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections; and (2) regulate and enact public campaign financing systems, including those designed to restrict the influence of private wealth by offsetting the raising and spending of money by candidates and others with increased public funding.” ¹⁰ As of March 6, 2023 there were 109 cosponsors of the resolution, all of them members of the Democratic Party. ¹¹

Partners and Volunteers

Move to Amend encourages supporters to sign up to volunteer, participate in its “Action Campaigns,” sign petitions, and donate to the organization. ¹² It also has a Take Action Toolkit which gives instructions on how to start a local chapter of Move to Amend. ¹³

Endorsing Organizations

As of 2023, more than 730 organizations had endorsed Move to Amend. ¹⁴ Its initial signatories are memorialized on a page of its website. ¹⁵ Endorsing groups include various local Democratic Party and Green Party chapters, as well as various left-leaning organizations, including the Alliance for Democracy, Amend it Forward, the American Friends Service Committee, the American Ethical Union, Americans for Democratic Action, American for Progressive Action, and the National Community Rights Network. ¹⁶

Caucuses

Move to Amend has national caucuses that organize its members by issue area.

Its Labor Caucus claims that Move to Amend will be overwhelmingly beneficial to workers and labor union members. It therefore sets itself the task of spreading awareness of the Move to Amend coalition within the labor movement and convert more unions to the campaign. ¹⁷

Its Ecology Network was established in 2022 to reach out to more environmental groups on the premise that there is a link between alleged “climate collapse” and “ecological destructive policies” on the one hand and “corporate rule” on the other. It seeks to “match the scale of the solution” — namely the We the People amendment and its other proposed constitutional amendments — with the “scale of the existential ecological crisis.” ¹⁸

Move to Amend’s Interfaith Caucus seeks to involve more religious groups and institutions into its movement. It advocates for the curtailing of political speech on a religious basis as “an expression of our convictions” and a united front against “the inhumanity of corporate rule.” It additionally stresses the religious toleration, as well as the toleration of differences in racial, economic, and sexual orientation, implicit in the coalition’s promotion of “democracy.” ¹⁹

Local Chapters

Since 2010, Move to Amend has allowed volunteers to create local chapters for the coalition. As of 2023, there were local chapters in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington. Some states have multiple chapters. ²⁰

Funding

In 2019, Move to Amend raised $$368,954, spent $388,761, and ended the year with $41,561 in assets. ²¹

Leadership

Co-Directors

As of March 2023, Move to Amend had five co-directors: Alfonso Saldana, Greg Coleridge, Jennie Spanos, Shelby Williams, and Dolores Guernica. Jennie Spanos worked with affiliate organizations in Pensacola, Florida and Mendocino, California, and worked as a journalist covering “environmental, social, and economic justice.” ²²

Greg Coleridge is a co-director of Move to Amend as well as a board member of the Alliance for Just Money. Previously, Coleridge worked with the American Friends Service Committee, sat on the national governing board of Common Cause, and was a principal with the Program on Corporations, Law, and Democracy. ²³

National Board of Directors

As of 2023, Move to Amend’s national board of directors was comprised of the following individuals. ²⁴

Jessica Munger is an activist that as of March 2023 was living on “unceded Southern Paiute and Chemehuevi land called Las Vegas, NV” where she “practices mutual aid and feeds people her home-baked sourdough bread.” Munger is an organizer and facilitator for the Toward A People’s Constitution project and is a member of the Oregon Human Rights Commission on Sex Work. ²⁵

Daniel Lee is a member of Occupy Los Angeles and InterOccupy, and has participated in several other social justice organizations in the Los Angeles area. He served on the Culver City Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee for three years. ²⁶

George Friday is a community organizer and communications specialist who has served as the national field organizer for the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and has worked with the Independent Progressive Politics Network. ²⁷

Jason Bayless is an activist who has worked for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and has contributed to reports and documentaries alleging animal abuse in the entertainment industry. He is an advisor to Food Empowerment Project, a vegan food justice organization, and serves as the president of the board of Center for Farmworker Families. As of March 2023, he was working as the U.S. community development specialist for the Pachamama Alliance. ²⁸

Joni Albrecht is a pediatrician who has worked as a representative for labor unions such as the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) and activist group Friends of Broward Detainees. She has been involved with Democratic Socialists of America and is a member of Health Over Profit for Everyone and Physicians for Social Responsibility. ²⁹

Other members included activists Keyan Bliss, Leila Roberts, Saleem Chapman, and Tara Ingram. ³⁰

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