1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to support legislation that would completely ban super PACs and eliminate all corporate money from our political system. Our democracy cannot function when corporations, nonprofits, and LLCs drown out the voices of individual voters. Since the 2010 Citizens United decision, outside spending has exploded more than 28-fold, rising from $144 million in 2008 to over $4.2 billion in 2024. In 2024 alone, the top 1% of super PAC donors provided 97% of all funds. This is not democracy. This is oligarchy with a voting booth attached. The legal fiction that super PACs operate independently from campaigns has been thoroughly exposed. Single-candidate super PACs function as coordinated shadow campaigns through redboxing and vendor coordination. Mega-donors use super PAC contributions to purchase direct access and policy favors. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has correctly identified Justice Kennedy's independence claim as erroneous fact-finding. The corruption is not theoretical. It is documented and measurable. Limiting contributions to super PACs is insufficient. These entities should not exist at all. H.R. 2352, the Abolish Super PACs Act, takes an important first step by restoring contribution limits, but we need to go further. I urge you to support legislation that would ban super PACs entirely and prohibit all campaign contributions from corporations, nonprofits, LLCs, and any entity other than individual voters. The Supreme Court has historically permitted Congress to regulate campaign finance to prevent corruption. We have the constitutional authority to act. What we need is the political will. Eighty percent of Americans believe campaign donors have too much influence over congressional decisions. Your constituents are demanding change. I ask you to champion legislation that returns our elections to the people who actually vote in them. Ban super PACs. Eliminate corporate money. Restore democracy.