This briefing presents a bold new strategy for states to use their long-standing authority to define the corporations they charter to no longer grant political-spending powers to their corporations, effectively making Citizens United irrelevant. By reframing the debate around state-granted powers rather than constitutional rights, this strategy opens a novel path to curb corporate money in politics while grounding reform in deeply established corporate law principles.
Tom Moore is a senior fellow at American Progress, where he focuses on democracy and government reform. From 2015 to 2023, Moore served as counsel and then chief of staff to Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Moore has a BA in political science from Davidson College and a law degree from Georgetown University. He wrote and edited for Congressional Quarterly and CNN, served two terms on the Rockville City Council, and served as president of the board of Common Cause Maryland.