Adav Noti, senior director, trial litigation at Campaign Legal Center (CLC), recently appeared on “The PBS Newshour” to highlight why record-breaking campaign spending is a result of wealthy special interests using unlimited, secret spending to rig the political system in their favor.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling to allow for corporate independent expenditures in the case Citizens United v. FEC has created an environment that is ripe for money to distort our politics. Citizens United allowed for the creation of super PACs, which buy influence over elected officials by spending unlimited amounts to advance their campaigns.
In the 2020 election cycle, an unprecedented $9.9 billion is expected to be spent on political ads, according to a study conducted by the British communications company WPP. This will top record-high levels of political ad spending in both the 2016 and 2018 election cycles.
As politicians have become increasingly reliant on this money, they have become more attuned to the needs of a few wealthy donors rather than those of everyday Americans. Unlimited, secret money from wealthy special interests prevents our elected representatives from making progress on key issues.
Watch the full interview below.
