In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United that corporations and unions have the same First Amendment speech rights as people. That ruling opened the door to corporations spending billions of dollars influencing elections. But a novel legal theory may challenge that core belief. It can be explained like this: States have the authority to define the powers of corporations and can redefine corporate charters to ban spending on elections.
Two state lawmakers in New York are attempting to do just that. If a bill that state Assemblymember Micah Lasher and state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez have introduced is passed, corporate spending on elections would come to an end.
Assemblymember Micah Lasher joined Capital Tonight on Tuesday to discuss. Lasher is also running for retiring Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler’s congressional seat in New York City.
