Twenty-Two States File Brief Asking Supreme Court To Back Off Citizens United

Twenty-two states joined an amicus brief that will be filed today in the Supreme Court by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) calling for the Supreme Court to back off its election-buying decision in Citizens United. The brief, which supports the state of Montana’s effort to preserve its ban on corporate money in elections, argues that state elections present an even greater risk than federal elections of being corrupted by corporate money — and thus states should be allowed to restrict such money even if the justice cling to their idiosyncratic belief that federal bans on corporate election spending are unconstitutional.

Sadly, the states’ brief only highlights the partisan impact of Citizens United. Of the 22 states that joined the brief, only three — Idaho, Washington and Utah — have Republican attorneys general. Additionally, top Republican elected officials and lobbying organizations, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, previously filed briefs calling for the justices to redouble their commitment to corporate influence on elections.

The GOP’s loyalty to Citizens United is disappointing, but it is not surprising. As ThinkProgress previously explained, Citizens United succeeded in transforming a moderate election spending advantage for Democrats into a massive advantage for Republicans:

Yet, while Citizens United enjoys strong support among Republican officials (and among the five Republican justices responsible for it), few Americans share this view. According to a recent Brennan Center poll, only 15 percent of respondents agree with the core of Citizens United‘s reasoning, that allowing wealthy corporations and individuals to spend unlimited money trying to influence elections will not lead to corruption — four percent fewer than believe in “spells or witchcraft” according to a different poll.