Restore Democracy: End Corporate Spending in New York Politics

I’m writing as your constituent to urge you to introduce legislation amending New York’s corporate laws to remove the ability of corporations to spend money in politics. Corporate political spending has badly distorted our democracy, and New York has the power to correct course. Since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling in 2010, corporate and outside spending in elections has exploded—from about $144 million in 2008 to more than $4.2 billion in 2024. Much of this comes through “dark money” groups that shield donors from the public. In the 2024 cycle alone, a single super PAC received over $200 million from a dark-money-linked group. This is not healthy democracy; it is legalized influence-peddling. States are not powerless. Corporations exist only because state law creates them. They have no inherent right to spend in politics—only the powers we choose to grant. New York has long reserved the right to amend or revoke corporate powers, and we can explicitly bar corporations, whether formed here or operating here, from using their treasuries to sway elections. This approach is grounded in corporate law and more legally durable than traditional campaign finance restrictions. For many voters like myself, this is also about restoring trust. Watching Congress allow the “big beautiful bill” to pass, and seeing corporate interests proudly displayed at the White House and even at inauguration, has been dystopian. It felt as if billionaire tech giants had become the rightful stewards of our democracy. These images and outcomes have left me disillusioned and disenfranchised. If New York took bold action to reset corporate power, it could begin to draw voters like me back. People want proof that our leaders will put citizens ahead of corporations. I urge you to support an amendment to New York’s corporate statutes that removes corporate power to spend in elections or ballot initiatives.