In several of my previous columns, I have made reference to the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC is an organization composed of corporations, interest groups and legislators at the state and federal levels.
Corporate members of ALEC include AOL, Comcast, Exxon Mobil and dozens of other large corporations. A number of prominent politicians from across the country are former members of ALEC.
In addition, more than two dozen members of the Florida Legislature have either claimed ALEC membership or attended an ALEC annual meeting since 2011.
According to its website, the organization seeks to “advance the fundamental principles of free-market enterprise, limited government, and federalism at the state level.”
In practice, this means ALEC promotes state legislation like massive tax cuts for the wealthy and reduced government regulations that benefit the rich and powerful at the expense of the middle class and the poor.
ALEC has also supported voter ID laws, which require citizens to present certain types of ID in order to register to vote. In addition, its members have supported reducing early voting hours in states around the country.
These laws have the purpose of reducing voter turnout, particularly among groups that are least likely to support ALEC’s agenda. These demographic groups include African-Americans, Hispanics and college students.
Now, ALEC is promoting a piece of legislation that would further restrict the ability of ordinary citizens to have their voices heard in government by undermining the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Before the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913, U.S. senators were selected by state legislatures. The amendment altered this process and called for senators to be directly elected by the people.
Supporters of the amendment sought to ensure that senators would represent ordinary citizens rather than elite state legislators, who have historically been wealthier than their constituents.
The ALEC-supported Equal State’s Enfranchisement Act would take a step toward taking this representation away from the people and putting it back in the hands of state legislators. The bill would allow a plurality of a state legislature to nominate a candidate for the U.S. Senate. This candidate would appear on the ballot alongside those nominated by traditional party primaries and conventions.
Karla Jones, ALEC’s director of international and federal relations, claims the proposed legislation is “a way to preserve the good parts of the 17th Amendment” and not a means of circumventing it. Jones said the Equal State’s Enfranchisement Act ensures that state legislatures have “a voice in the [electoral] process, which the constitutional founders originally thought they should have.”
The true motivation for ALEC’s support of this bill is likely far more sinister. ALEC essentially participates in a form of legalized bribery: It sponsors all-expenses-paid, luxurious conferences for state legislators to “educate” them about ALEC’s newest model legislation.
ALEC also facilitates interaction between these legislators and representatives of large corporations, many of whom provide donations to the re-election campaigns of these same politicians.
By increasing the influence of state legislatures on electing U.S. senators, ALEC hopes to bring even more supporters of its ultra-conservative, corporate-friendly agenda to the halls of Congress.
Americans largely agree that corporations and wealthy Americans already have an outsized and harmful influence on American government and public policy. A 2012 survey conducted by Bannon Communications found that a whopping 83 percent of Americans believe that “corporations and corporate CEOs have too much political power and influence.” Allowing ALEC to restrict the democratic nature of American elections by weakening the 17th Amendment will only exacerbate the corruption and corporate cronyism that plagues the American political system.
Elliot Levy is a UF political science and public relations junior. His column runs on Wednesdays. A version of this column ran on page 6 on 11/20/2013 under the headline "ALEC’s voting bill threatens democracy"
