Support the We the People Act, and we just might get to find out.

Welcome to the website of We the People Massachusetts, an all-volunteer network of citizens dedicated to the cause of democracy.  You can learn more about our organization by visiting the "about us" page.

We've been active in developing educational materials like the Fixing our Broken Democracy workshop and organizing ballot initiatives in 2012 and 2014.

We partnered with other organizations to promote passage of the We the People Act, which narrowly missed being voted out of committee for consideration by the entire House. We plan to submit a similar bill during the next legislative session.

The 2015-16 We the People Act (H.3127) did two things:

• First, it called on Congress to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution asserting that
  1. the rights protected by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons, i.e. human individuals, only and
  2. Congress and the states shall place limits on political contributions and expenditures to ensure that all citizens have access to the political process, and the spending of money to influence elections is not protected free speech under the First Amendment

• Second, if Congress failed to propose such an amendment within six months, the We the People Act put Massachusetts on record calling for a convention of the states for the purpose of proposing the amendment.

1. Find out whether your state representative and state senator signed on as supporters of the bill.

2. If they were co-sponsors, thank them and urge them to make the We the People Act a priority.

Lawmakers sign their names onto many pieces of legislation.  That is an important first step but does not guarantee that a bill moves forward and gets a vote.  We need to keep the pressure on in order to ensure that the We the People Act is a top priority.  This means calling, emailing, writing letters - whatever you can do.  A letter to the editor of your local paper is especially effective.  Start by thanking them; a bill that earns them public praise is much more likely to stay on their radar.  After thanking them for co-sponsoring, make it clear to your elected officials that you want them to go to the mat for democracy!

If they are not co-sponsors, urge them to support the We the People Act.

As the bill moves through the legislative process, lawmakers can add their names to the existing list of supporters.  If your representative or senator has not yet signed on as a champion of democracy, it's never too late to get them on board.  Sometimes all it takes is hearing that a number of their constituents are interested in a piece of legislation.

3. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper.

Letters to the editor are a great way to raise public awareness of the We the People Act.  Just think of how many people there are who understand that our democracy is in trouble but don't know there's a solution they can support.  Your letter is the good news they've been waiting for.  If your LTE gets published, let us know!

4. Contact us to volunteer!

Coalition supporting the we the people act:

Endorsing organizations: