Dear Editor:

Money in politics limits the voices of everyday voters. We, the people, are continually drowned out by an avalanche of spending.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Buckley v. Valeo (1976) positioned the Court as the nation’s chief decision maker about whether and how money in politics could be regulated. That ruling set the stage for Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Jan. 21 marked the 16th anniversary of the Citizens United decision, which ushered in unlimited amounts of money in our elections.

Billionaires and corporate donors have front-row access to our elected officials when they can pour millions into super PACs and political spending. Here in Maine, the state I call home, a Republican super PAC recently gave Susan Collins a $42 million boost to her campaign. The Democratic counterpart, Majority Project, spent an estimated $259 million on a handful of key Senate races last year and is expected to play a significant role in Maine’s 2026 elections; in 2020 alone, it spent more than $27 million on Maine’s Senate race.

Mainers want to elect candidates that are funded by individual donors, not Super PACs and out-of-state billionaires.

Americans are increasingly distrustful of the government. Fortunately, there is a solution to the problem of unlimited spending in our elections. You can take action by calling on your elected leaders to support a constitutional amendment that would allow for common-sense limits on the power of money in our democracy. Twenty-three states have already called on Congress to act.

Let’s make Maine one of them.

Alison Curwen

Southport