​​


Ask your Senators and Representative

to introduce this amendment

as a joint resolution.


Click on "Find my Senator!" and "Find my Representative!" and follow the instructions on the Home page.


The entire House and 1/3 of the Senate is up for election in 2018. 

​Ask all candidates to support this amendment,

& not to take large donations or use PACs.

Support candidates who agree! 

Even turning over long-held seats for this purpose will free them - and us -  

from corporate- or foreign-financed campaigns, gerrymandering, and battles over partisan rules forever,

while protecting their constituents' voting rights.

The first stepis finding members who'll sponsor it for introduction and commit to making it their first priority. 

Many members of Congress want this amendment themselves. They don't like being beholden. But being the first to say so is another matter. Private interests will be impacted, so money will be spent to retain money's power, and false and misleading statements will be harnessed to retain the power of false and misleading statements (see Redistricting for Balanced Access). Remember Congress represents the public's will, and the people have the responsibility to correct defects in our governance processes. It isn’t easy but it’s been done 27 times, and it’s always been a challenge.


There are three stages to Congressional passage of an amendment:
subcommittee, committee, and full vote, in the Senate and the House for a total of six votes.

Getting it introduced into Congress starts the formal process (see Stages of Congressional Passage).

Amendments are introduced as joint resolutions but still go through the levels separately.
Members of the subcommittees and committees are listed. Supporters in committee members’ districts or states always need to keep at them to sponsor or co-sponsor a bill and prevent its stalling in committee. 

2/3 of each House present at the final vote must vote for it.
​

Some districts and states may have to demand that their Senators and Representatives sponsor and vote for it whether those honorable officers personally want to or not. Communicate individually and in groups.

Send petitions - Congress doesn’t use petitions but they show the strength of public support.


State ballot initiatives, on the other hand, must be addressed in Congress

(see Using Ballot Initiatives and Statutes).

If your state uses them, put this amendment on one!

If not, petition your state legislature by whatever method your state uses

to pass a bill applying to Congress to pass it.

Just don’t let a Constitutional Convention be involved (see The Con-Con Con)!

 
Avoid any lesser offers lobbyists or members may make instead. 

Remind your Senators and Representative that statutes and rulings are too limited, and too easy to change, to affect the need for an amendment (see Statute vs Constitutional Amendment). While this amendment requires some sacrifice, nothing in it is the slightest bit harmful or dangerous to the public, and the sacrifice is distributed as evenly as possible among branches and levels. This isn't just the best of the available options, it's the only viable solution out there.​​


Make sure the public knows the namesof candidates supporting or opposed to this amendment.

Associate candidates' names and amendment positions in any simple, lawful and fair manner you can think of (humor, music, local TV news). But hold the high road and don't let anything reduce you to the level of insulting remarks. After all, you’ll especially want voters to remember the names associated with positive positions when they vote.

We can get endorsements from public figures and from groups working for political process reform. If they already support a measure that is ineffective, unenforceable, self-defeating, or easily changed or revoked, communicate this to them and ask for their support of this amendment, which is effective, enforceable and lasting. A unified movement will succeed much faster than one with splinter groups promoting different measures. Of course, opponents of reform will insist on vocally supporting useless measures for just that reason. This proposal shows the differences. Tell people! 


Use the media.


If you protest,protest peacefully and lawfully. Don't get hurt.

​


Free Congress! They can't do it themselves. ​



​We're rallying behind political recovery.


Free Congress! They can't do it themselves.

​

Safeguarding our rights depends on our willingness as citizens to participate.

​

Passing an Amendment

Through Congress


AMENDMENT 
to the
CONSTITUTION 
​OF THE
UNITED STATES of AMERICA
​submitted to the 115th Congress


Article XXVIII​

Resolved, ​by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 
assembled in Congress with two-thirds of each House in agreement,
that the following Article is proposed as the Twenty-eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 
which will be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution 
when ratified by three-fourths of the several States within two years, 
by Conventions of delegates nominated by popular petition and elected by popular ballot.​ 


Section 1

The people of the United States will ordain and establish United States government under this Constitution, 
and the United States will fund and certify self-governance during a period set by Congress, 
uniform throughout the States, preceding any vote in an election, appointment or Act. 
Congress will annually appropriate between one hundredth's-part and five hundredths'-parts 
of one percent of gross domestic product

for all support and opposition concerning measures or candidates, 
including signature drive, and these included in other promotion. 
In public view Congress, but neither candidates nor sponsors of bills,
will first allocate in a uniform amount 
but when repeating these will consider time, place and manner of speech, including repetition. 
A citizen may conduct such self-governance and an inhabitant may donate labor, 
but no tax, credit or obligation will be affected for self-governance. 


Section 2

The United States will guarantee to every State fairly contested and impartially conducted elections, 
monitored and audited, and proceeding no longer than nine months before the electoral vote. 
No private person or entity will conduct granting, apportionment, districting, 
or the holding, tallying, monitoring, or auditing of elections. 
The United States and every State will enforce the right of a citizen eighteen years of age or older 
to vote, not to vote, or to abstain regarding any office or proposal, in United States or State elections.​


Section 3

A uniform ratio will divide all States to apportion to each State at least one Representative, 
who will represent at least thirty thousand and at most two hundred thousand. 
Districts will represent economic level and geography, 
but no person’s access to government will be abridged.


Section 4​​

When either House has too few Members able to attend to reach quorum, 
the executives of affected States will issue writs of election to fill those vacancies. 
But when less than three months remain in the term or when the President declares a state of emergency, 
a State's legislature may empower its executive to make temporary appointments
before issuing writs of election;
when that office is vacant, that legislature will have power
to make temporary appointments before issuing writs of election;
when a State's legislature also falls below possible quorum,
its executive will have power to make temporary appointments to Congress before issuing writs of election,
but if that office is also vacant a write-in election will take place.
When writs do not issue promptly, a State may petition its legislature for an election.


Section 5

The United States will fund the direction of exercise of its offices. 
An officer will be expelled or impeached for accepting or soliciting
any private money, present, benefit or promise, 
or for coercion or political fraud,
not excluding by speech or debate on the floor. 
A candidate who knowingly benefits from political fraud, coercion or bribery will forfeit the office. 
Titles and descriptions of Acts of the United States and of States will be true and accurate. 
An officer sworn or affirmed to support this Constitution will petition Congress to support its legal force, 
equal in all text including “We the People”, unless repealed by Amendment.     ​


​[End of Amendment. End of Resolution. May not be added to, subtracted from, or altered.]