This is an archive of a past election.
See http://www.smartvoter.org/ca/alm/ for current information.
LWV League of Women Voters of California Education Fund If you appreciate our service to voters, please consider helping us with a donation.
Smart Voter
Alameda County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
Measure P
Banning Corporate Personhood
City of Berkeley

Ordinance - Majority Approval Required

Pass: 30703 / 84.67% Yes votes ...... 5559 / 15.33% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Results as of Dec 28 11:38am, 100.00% of Precincts Reporting (107/107)
Information shown below: Arguments | Full Text

Should the United States Constitution be amended to abolish the legal concept that corporations are persons that are entitled to constitutional rights, and the doctrine that the expenditure of money may be treated as speech?

  Nonpartisan Information

League of Women Voters

This election is archived. Any links to sources outside of Smart Voter may no longer be active. No further links will be added to this page.
Links to sources outside of Smart Voter are provided for information only and do not imply endorsement.

Arguments For Measure P Arguments Against Measure P
The Supreme Court's decision in Buckley vs. Valeo (1976) established the concept that "money equals speech."

The Court's decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Elections (2010) gave corporations the same rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution as human persons.

The 5-4 Supreme Court decision specified that donating unlimited money on campaigns should be considered free speech. As a result, large corporations have undue influence over who gets elected, what laws are passed, what is in our food and water and air. Granting corporations the status of a legal "person" effectively re-writes the constitution to serve corporate interests as though they were human interests, without requiring any of the responsibilities of personhood.

Do you think money should be considered the same as speech?

Do you think corporations are entitled to the same rights and protections as human beings, without any of the responsibilities?

Don't let our privilege and power as citizens be undermined.

Vote Yes on P to send a clear message to our representatives to pass an Amendment to the Constitution to abolish "corporate personhood."

Defend democracy. Yes on Measure P.

Emily Rusch
Taylor Joseph Ward
Kriss Worthington
Susan Wengraf
Gordon Wozniak

Rebuttal to Arguments For
No rebuttal arguments were submitted.

No arguments against Measure P were submitted.

Full Text of Measure P
Should the United States Constitution be amended to abolish the legal concept that corporations are persons that are entitled to constitutional rights, and the doctrine that the expenditure of money may be treated as speech?


Alameda Home Page || Statewide Links || About Smart Voter || Feedback
Created: July 23, 2015 14:55 PDT
Smart Voter <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © League of Women Voters of California Education Fund   http://cavotes.org
The League of Women Voters neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office or political parties.