Democracy Matters may be newest Elon political organization

The Pendulum (Elon University)
April 30, 2014
By Michael Bodley

A new student political organization is aiming to join the likes of Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) and the Elon College Democrats next fall.

Democracy Matters, a national nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that seeks to “get big money out of politics and people back in” is in talks with Elon University to establish a chapter.

The organization’s National Field Director, Anita Kinney, said it’s important not only to educate young people about politics, but to mobilize them and harness their energy also.

“We strive to tell college students that there is always something you can do,” Kinney said. “You can raise awareness, not just money. You can take your congresspeople to task for what they should be doing.”

A group of a half-dozen students are working with the Student Union Board (SUB) to get initial approval for the new organization. From there, they plan to work with Jana Lynn Patterson, assistant vice president for student life, to finalize details before presenting to SUB’s Student Life Committee, which grants the final approval for student organizations on campus.

Freshman Kelsea Johnson, who has been involved in the planning stages of the hopeful Elon organization, said students are generally aware of political issues, but not necessarily comfortable with taking political action.

Johnson said the campus dialogue could use direction and a bit of organization.

“At Elon, you see a lot of people interested in and talking about the issues,” Johnson said. “But this is not only to spark the conversation, but to encourage serious action.”

Though Democracy Matters doesn’t endorse specific candidates or party positions, it has aligned itself firmly against the landmark election Supreme Court Case, Citizens United v. The Federal Exchange Commission (FEC), which found that money is the same as speech in a 2010 decision.

In the minds of many, the ruling rendered people the same as corporations, which Kinney said can lead to “explicit corruption.”

“We want to get private money out of politics via campaign finance reform, and that issue relates to every single other issue that we deal with,” she said.

More recently, in McCutcheon v. FEC, the Supreme Court ruled April 2 that aggregate limits on individual campaign contributions are a violation of free speech.

“This lends itself to explicit corruption,” Kinney said. “This is not the type of corruption that they can regulate, which inherently means some precedent is OK.”

Kinney said Democracy Matters would like to see a bill passed on the national level that incorporates “some adequate level” of public funding for congressional and presidential elections.

Kinney went on to say that restructuring voting laws may require a change in elected officials nationwide, which can be brought about by educating young people about the issues that matter.

In the meantime, Democracy Matters sponsors student internships for both high school and college students, where interns spend their time engaging with the public and government officials in an effort to spur campaign finance change.

In talking to interested Elon students who may get involved with the organization, Kinney said she was impressed by the level of discourse and knowledge students displayed about politics.

“Their experience and knowledge about local politics and engagement on that community level were very sophisticated in their understanding of how the community interacts with Elon and why that matters,” she said.