The Stamp Stampede was an activist project that aimed to promote left-of-center policies on taxation, welfare programs, campaign financing, criminal justice, and other issues, primarily by recruiting volunteers to stamp political slogans on dollar bills and releasing them into circulation. The project’s organizers described their money-stamping campaign as a “sustained protest” which they claimed would lead to significant changes in society on par with abolition of slavery, suffrage for women, and normalization of same-sex relationships.

Stamp Stampede focused on pushing left-wing election financing and administration policies, as well as attempting to discredit calls for election integrity laws. The project partnered with a number of major players in the field of left-wing activism, including the lobbying organization Public Citizen, the petition hosting platform MoveOn Civic Action, and the advocacy group People for the American Way, which targets conservatives. ¹

Stamp Stampede was a signatory to the Declaration for American Democracy, an initiative of the Public Citizen Foundation and the sister organization of Public Citizen. The declaration calls for a broad range of left-wing voting policies and has received support from hundreds of other groups, including the election advocacy group Common Cause and major labor unions such as the American Federation of Teachers and the Service Employees International Union. ²

Stamp Stampede was created by Ben Cohen, co-founder of the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream corporation and a prominent left-wing activist, and Richard Foos, co-founder of the Rhino Records music label and another influential supporter of left-of-center activism. The organization was housed at People Power Initiatives, Cohen’s political organizing entity, which went inactive in 2018. ^{3 4} While Stamp Stampede maintained an active website as of March 2023, it stopped issuing press statements in October 2017. ⁵

Background

Ben Cohen, the former chief executive officer of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and the co-founder of Stamp Stampede, has cited previous marketing and messaging campaigns using paper money as the inspiration for his chosen form of activism. Cohen has claimed that stamping political slogans on dollar bills does not violate currency defacement laws, while also suggesting that federal authorities have more pressing priorities regardless of whether or not his organization’s activities are technically lawful. Differing legal opinions exist on the subject: a spokesperson for the Bureau of Printing and Engraving stated that it did violate the law, while an attorney who had previously advised Stamp Stampede argued that it was protected by the First Amendment because it did not promote a business or political party. ⁶

When Cohen first launched Stamp Stampede in 2012, he set far-reaching objectives for left-of-center election reform, not only pushing for new campaign finance laws but also demanding a constitutional amendment that would permanently enshrine the organization’s preferred policies. At the time, this initiative received criticism from within the activist left: one prominent organizer in Cohen’s home state of Vermont argued that changes to the Constitution have been rare and difficult to achieve throughout American history, calling Cohen’s cause a “wild goose chase,” and that more achievable and effective campaign finance changes could be pursued. ⁷

Objectives

Stamp Stampede offers stamps with a variety of slogans for its activists to purchase, including ones that call for various campaign finance restrictions and others that disparage election integrity measures as an attack on voting rights. The organization also promotes slogans which deny the prevalence and impact of voter fraud. ⁸

Leadership

Ben Cohen is the director of Stamp Stampede. He is a co-founder and former chief executive officer of the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream corporation, which has its own lengthy track record of backing left-wing causes, including the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Black Lives Matter anti-police campaign. Cohen is also a founder of the TrueMajority left-wing organizing group and previously sat on the board of the international environmentalist activist group Greenpeace. ⁹

Nina Turner is a member of the Stamp Stampede board of directors. She is a former Democratic Ohio State Senator and a long-time pro-abortion activist. Turner backed self-described socialist senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during his unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign. ¹⁰

1. The Stamp Stampede. Accessed March 12, 2023. https://www.stampstampede.org/
2. Declaration for American Democracy. Accessed March 12, 2023. https://dfadcoalition.org/
3. “About Us.” The Stamp Stampede. Accessed March 12, 2023. https://www.stampstampede.org/about-us/
4. “Board of Directors.” People Power Initiatives. Accessed March 12, 2023. https://www.peoplepowerinitiatives.org/about-us
5. “Press.” The Stamp Stampede. Accessed March 12, 2023. https://www.stampstampede.org/about-us/press/
6. Ken Picard. “Ben Cohen Has a Plan to Purge Money from Politics: Stamp It Out.” Seven Days. November 21, 2012. Accessed March 12, 2023. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/ben-cohen-has-a-plan-to-purge-money-from-politics-stamp-it-out/Content?oid=2242283
7. Ken Picard. “Ben Cohen Has a Plan to Purge Money from Politics: Stamp It Out.” Seven Days. November 21, 2012. Accessed March 12, 2023. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/ben-cohen-has-a-plan-to-purge-money-from-politics-stamp-it-out/Content?oid=2242283
8. The Stamp Stampede. Accessed March 12, 2023. https://www.stampstampede.org/
9. ^[1]“About Us.” The Stamp Stampede. Accessed March 12, 2023. https://www.stampstampede.org/about-us/
10. ^[1]“About Us.” The Stamp Stampede. Accessed March 12, 2023. https://www.stampstampede.org/about-us/