For immediate release:
For more information:
Gabe Meyer – Campaign Director
GabeMeyer@WAmend.org
Steve Zemke – State Field Director
SteveZemke@WAmend.org
Campaign phone – 206-547-9961
Initiative 735 Passes 239,000 Signatures
Supporters of Initiative 735 in Washington State have now collected over 239,000 signatures on Initiative 735. A minimum of 246,273 valid signatures is required to file with the Secretary of State by December 31, 2015. WAmend (Washington Coalition to Amend the Constitution), the sponsor of Initiative 735, is targeting to get 320,000 signatures to cover duplicate and invalid signatures.
WAmend volunteers as of Dec 1, 2015 have collected 226,160 signatures and an additional 13,249 were collected by Fix Democracy First for I-735. The total collected equals 239,409 signatures.
Initiative 735 urges Congress to pass an amendment to the US Constitution to overturn the corporate Citizens United decision by the US Supreme Court. It would declare that corporations are not people and money is not free speech under the Constitution but that states and Congress have the right to regulate money in elections and the public has the right to know who is spending the money.
Both Houses of Congress would need to adopt the amendment by a 2/3 vote. Then it would need to be adopted by 3/4 ‘s of the states. To date some 27 amendments have been added to the US Constitution.
Initiative 735 is an initiative to the Washington State Legislature. If the Legislature does not enact the initiative, it would go onto the November 2016 ballot. Sixteen states so far have enacted similar legislation. When it was on the ballot In Colorado and Montana, voters passed the measures with greater than 74% of the voters saying yes.
Numerous organizations in Washington state so far have endorsed I-735, including the Washington Education Association, Washington State Democratic Party, Faith Action Network, Washington State Labor Council, Washington Conservation Voters, WashPIRG and FUSE Washington.
Initiative 735 is also endorsed by US Representatives Adam Smith, Derek Kilmer and Jim McDermott, King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, Bellevue mayor Claudia Balducci, 12 State Senators and 28 State Representatives.
For more information check out our webpage at www.WAmend.org and our WAmend facebook page.
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