--- title: Liberals and Conservatives Want to Overturn Citizens United description: Liberals and conservatives overwhelmingly support a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. canonical: https://time.com/5272988/citizens-united-campaign-finance-constitution/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-05-10T16:52:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:14:40.021Z article:section: Politics og:title: Liberals Want to Overturn Citizens United. A New Study Shows Conservatives Do Too og:description: Two-thirds of Republicans, in fact. og:url: https://time.com/5272988/citizens-united-campaign-finance-constitution/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf84f873e8def68ed/69869f6913c79f1c3119373b/139616930.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3968 og:image:height: 2232 og:image:alt: SCOTUS og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Liberals Want to Overturn Citizens United. A New Study Shows Conservatives Do Too twitter:description: Two-thirds of Republicans, in fact. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf84f873e8def68ed/69869f6913c79f1c3119373b/139616930.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Liberals Want to Overturn Citizens United. A New Study Shows Conservatives Do Too > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Ashley Balcerzak / Center for Public Integrity](https://time.com/author/center-for-public-integrity/) ## Ashley Balcerzak / Center for Public Integrity May 10, 2018 4:52 PM UTC  Common Cause, a national nonpartisan "citizens" lobbying group, held a protest to urge the Supreme Court to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Common Cause, a national nonpartisan "citizens" lobbying group, held a protest to urge the Supreme Court to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Chris Maddaloni—CQ-Roll Call,Inc. by [Ashley Balcerzak / Center for Public Integrity](https://time.com/author/center-for-public-integrity/) ## Ashley Balcerzak / Center for Public Integrity May 10, 2018 4:52 PM UTC Liberals and conservatives overwhelmingly support a constitutional amendment that would effectively overturn the Supreme Court’s seminal campaign finance decision in [_Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission_](https://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/10/18/11527/citizens-united-decision-and-why-it-matters), according to a new [study ](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4455238-campaignfinancereport.html)from the University of Maryland and nonpartisan research group Voice of the People. Three-fourths of survey respondents — including 66 percent of Republicans and 85 percent of Democrats — back a constitutional amendment outlawing _Citizens United_. The study also indicates that most Americans — 88 percent overall — want to reduce the influence large campaign donors wield over lawmakers at a time when a single congressional election may cost tens of millions of dollars. That most Republican and Democratic voters want to amend the U.S. Constitution to limit big money’s role in politics is notable because it’s the “most drastic step that can be taken,” said [Steven Kull](http://www.cissm.umd.edu/people/steven-kull), director of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy’s Program for Public Consultation, which conducted the study. The 2010 _Citizens United_decision specifically [allowed](https://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/10/18/11527/citizens-united-decision-and-why-it-matters)corporations, unions and certain nonprofits to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to advocate for and against political candidates. It also gave rise to [super PACs](https://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/03/18/14427/merriam-webster-makes-super-pac-official)— lightly regulated political committees that have become major weapons in both state and federal politics. Candidates and political parties, meanwhile, may by law only accept limited contributions. Overturning _Citizens United_ has been many liberals’ dream for years, [although it’s highly unlikely to happen](https://www.publicintegrity.org/2017/08/31/21144/democrats-say-citizens-united-should-die-here-s-why-won-t-happen). The traditional route for amending the Constitution requires a vote of two-thirds of both the House and Senate, followed by ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures. The Constitution was last amended in 1992. Most survey respondents also support congressional action on money in politics that fell short of a constitutional amendment, such as a bill that required corporations and unions to report campaign spending to shareholders, members and the public in addition to disclosures they file with the [Federal Election Commission](https://www.publicintegrity.org/2018/04/30/21715/fec-expired-terms). Some major corporations with household names indeed keep their political practices and spending quiet, such as Expedia, Garmin and Netflix, among others, [according to a study](https://www.publicintegrity.org/2017/09/26/21193/your-favorite-companies-may-be-political-black-boxes) by the nonpartisan Center for Political Accountability and the University of Pennsylvania. A recent [Center for Public Integrity analysis](https://www.publicintegrity.org/2017/08/31/21144/democrats-say-citizens-united-should-die-here-s-why-won-t-happen)found that Congress has little appetite for passing laws addressing campaign cash: Of more than two dozen money in politics bills introduced early in the current congressional session, lawmakers have not conducted a single formal hearing or vote on any of them. Less than half of those surveyed consider an anti-_Citizens United_amendment to be an attack on free speech. More than four out of five agree with the statement that “the rich should not have more influence just because they have more money.” David Keating, president of the Institute for Free Speech, a conservative nonprofit, questioned the survey’s findings. “If Americans knew that repealing _Citizens United_would allow Congress to censor critics and make it more difficult to defeat corrupt incumbents then they’d be less likely to support it going away,” Keating said. “It’s typical for academics to tout biased polls with questions that try to undermine support for free speech.” Although Democrats typically tout reducing big money and eliminating secret money in politics, they don’t always follow their own counsel. For example, a [Center for Public Integrity investigation](https://www.publicintegrity.org/2018/02/20/21559/how-democrats-use-dark-money-and-win-elections)revealed how a big-spending Democratic super PAC used a loophole in federal law to hide the identities of its donors until after Alabama’s special U.S. Senate election in December. Democratic presidential candidate [Hillary Clinton](https://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/04/07/19521/how-citizens-united-helping-hillary-clinton-win-white-house)also benefited from millions of dollars worth of so-called “[dark money](https://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/01/20/19156/what-political-dark-money-and-it-bad).” One campaign finance reform that most survey respondents dismissed? Funding presidential campaigns with public money using a federal system that’s largely fallen out of favor since the _Citizens United_decision. Two-thirds of respondents would prefer the federal government nix the checkbox on their tax forms that provides $3 to campaigns and instead direct the funds to other areas, such as pediatric research or deficit reduction. Campaign finance reform [isn’t the only thing](https://www.publicintegrity.org/2017/12/12/21391/liberals-and-conservatives-agree-ex-congressmen-should-put-brakes-lobbying-careers)voters on both sides of the aisle agree on: the University of Maryland found in a study late last year that Americans on the whole thought lawmakers should wait longer periods of time before cashing in on K Street as lobbyists. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5272988/citizens-united-campaign-finance-constitution/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5272988/citizens-united-campaign-finance-constitution/"},"headline":"Liberals Want to Overturn Citizens United. 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