SP173 declares that if Congress does not propose a constitutional amendment by December 31, 2026 to regulate money in politics—including increasing transparency, limiting the buying of political influence, and overturning Citizens United and related rulings—then Maine will formally apply for an Article V convention limited to that purpose. The application may be counted only with other state applications on this same topic and will remain active until two-thirds of states submit matching requests. The resolution also directs that authenticated copies be sent to Congress and every state legislature.
The Maine State Senate voted to uphold a committee recommendation "not to pass" SP173 on March 18, 2025 by a vote of 19 to 16. We have assigned pluses to the ayes because SP173 rightly rejects the push for a federal constitutional amendment that would restrict political speech under the guise of “campaign finance reform.” Efforts to regulate or limit money in politics—whether through contribution caps, mandated disclosures, or overturning Citizens United—amount to government control over how Americans may speak, associate, and spend their own resources to influence elections. Such restrictions violate the First Amendment, and convert political participation into a privilege granted by the state rather than a God-given right. Moreover, empowering Washington to police “transparency” or “corruption” inevitably leads to greater federal surveillance of candidates, citizens, and grassroots organizations. Article I, Section 4 intentionally keeps the regulation of elections primarily at the state level, closer to the people. For the sake of preserving free political expression and resisting unconstitutional federal overreach, states should refuse to advance any Article V Con-Con campaign seeking to curtail Americans’ ability to support the candidates and causes of their choosing.
