Get Money Out Maryland (GMOM) is a left-of-center policy advocacy organization that works to restrict campaign-related speech and financial contributions. Though this organization also targets issue areas such as voter access, statehood for the District of Columbia, and inheritance-tax reduction, it is mainly focused on working to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision. GMOM describes itself an entirely volunteer-driven organization. ¹

This group allies with Count Every Vote! Maryland, For the People Maryland Coalition, and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN). It is also a member of the left-of-center Declaration for American Democracy Coalition. ²

Advocacy

Overturning Citizens United

In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court supported a challenge by the right-of-center advocacy group Citizens United to Federal Election Commission rules that prevented candidate-related speech expenditures by nonprofits and corporations in the run-up to federal elections. Siding with Citizens United, the Court held that “political speech must prevail against laws that would suppress it, whether by design or inadvertence.” ³

House Joint Resolution 48, sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), would effectively overturn this decision by adding an amendment to the U.S. Constitution specifying that First Amendment (free speech) rights only apply to natural persons, not to corporations or “artificial entities.” It would also place future limitations on the Supreme Court by stipulating that the court cannot view election expenditures as speech, or consider the proposed constitutional amendment as an impingement on the freedom the press. Get Money Out Maryland’s website posted a YouTube video advocating for this so-called “28th amendment,” and highlighting previous Supreme Court cases that were overturned by amendments. ^{4 5}

In an October 2017 op-ed, GMOM board member and vice president Doug Miller suggested enacting a 28th amendment through a more novel approach: Article V of the U.S. Constitution. This article provides that if a two-thirds majority of states draft and propose an amendment, Congress is required to convene to hear it. This method has never been used and would require a three-fourths majority of states to ratify the proposed amendment. ⁶

Electoral Count Reform Act

This piece of legislation, drafted by Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Susan Collins (R-ME), overhauled the original 1887 Electoral Count Act by designating each state’s governor as the individual responsible for submitting the state’s slate of electors, and by increasing the number of representatives and senators required to object to a slate of electors to one-fifth of the entire Congress. Other changes, such as security measures surrounding the counting of Electoral Votes, are also included. This Act was attached to the 4,000-page omnibus spending bill signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) in 2022. ^{7 8}

For the People Act

The For the People Act of 2021 contains a provision that would undermine Citizens United by expanding the scope of spending by political action committees that could be classified as contributions. It would also impose campaign finance restrictions such as limiting contributions by foreign nationals, as well as imposing a code of conduct on members of the U.S. Supreme Court. This legislation also addresses issues surrounding voter registration, including automatic and same-day registration, and requires presidential candidates to disclose retroactively the last 10 years of tax returns. ⁹

DISCLOSE Act

The “Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections” (DISCLOSE) Act, sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), has similar aims to the For the People Act, limiting contributions by foreign nationals, and mandating disclosure to the Federal Election Commission within 24 hours of any donation received over $10,000 during an election cycle. It also requires an organization to reveal details about political ad spending, and the identities of its top donors each year. ¹⁰

John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

This legislation, sponsored Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL), would force states to be “precleared” by the U.S. Department of Justice before making any changes to voting laws if that state crossed a certain threshold of voting rights violations. The Act would apply this metric retroactively for 25 years. The legislation would also mandate that courts must admit historical evidence of a state’s voting discrimination when hearing challenges to election procedure. ¹¹

Leadership

Charlie Cooper is president of Get Money Out Maryland as well as secretary, board member, and former president of Maryland Education Coalition. He is also a former member of the foster care organization Citizen’s Review Board for Children. ¹²

1. “GMOM Donations.” GMOM. Accessed February 27, 2023. https://www.getmoneyoutmd.org/gmom_donations
2. ”Home.” DFADC. Accessed February 27, 2023.  https://dfadcoalition.org/
3. “Citizens United v FEC.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed February 27, 2023. https://www.fec.gov/legal-resources/court-cases/citizens-united-v-fec/
4. “H.J.Res.48.” Congress.gov. Accessed February 27, 2023. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-joint-resolution/48
5. American Promise. “The 28th Amendment to Restore the American Promise.” YouTube. May 10, 2016. Accessed February 27, 2023.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6igolnTvqA&t=4s
6. Miller, Doug. “It’s time for the 28^th Amendment.” The Daily Record. October 5, 2017. Accessed February 27, 2023. https://thedailyrecord.com/2017/10/05/doug-miller-commentary-28th-amendment/
7. “Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022.” Collins.Senate.gov.  Accessed February 27, 2023. Chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.collins.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/one_pager_on_electoral_count_reform_act_of_2022.pdf
8. Underhill, Wendy. “What the Electoral Count Reform Act Means for States.” National Conference of State Legislators. January 16, 2023. Accessed February 27, 2023. https://www.ncsl.org/resources/details/what-the-electoral-count-reform-act-means-for-states
9. “H.R. 1-For the People Act.” Congress.gov. Accessed February 27, 2023. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1
10. “S. 4822-DISCLOSE Act.” Congress.gov. Accessed February 27, 2023. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/4822
11.  “H.R.4-John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021.” Congress.gov. Accessed February 27, 2023. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4
12. ^[1] “Charlie Cooper.” Linkedin. Accessed February 27, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-cooper-24453a7/