Join the Democracy For All Video Challenge!

Every voter—really every person—in the US has a stake in the fight to Get The Dough Out of Politics. The pay-to-play system enshrined by the Citizens United decision means that outside interests can spend as much as they want to influence political campaigns. With spending expected to top $5 billion during the 2016 election cycle, mostly from a few super-wealthy donors, how can we expect to have our voices heard?

Right now, a huge amount of that outside money is spent on clogging the airwaves and Internet with campaign advertising— a media barrage that has already begun in a few key states. This issue has generated broad activism in support of the Democracy for All Amendment, which would overturn the Citizens United decision and empower Congress and the States once again to limit overall campaign spending.

The Video Challenge

Organized by People For the American Way, and promoted by 120 other partner organizations and businesses, including Ben & Jerry's, the Democracy for All Video Challenge is offering people around the country a chance to fire up their imaginations and create their own videos in support of the Amendment.

The Details

The goal is to create a short (30-90 seconds) video calling on your fellow Americans to ask their representatives to support the amendment, including a call-to-action driving viewers to the Democracy For All website petition.

The window for submitting your video is August 12 – December 2, 2015. Each week, starting September 2, judges will award a $1,000 prize to a “weekly pick” from the videos submitted so far.

At the end of the contest, judges will award one $25,000 grand prize, and five $5,000 category prizes for Funniest Video, Best Student Video, Best Original Song Video, Best Dramatic Video and Best Creative Video. In total, that adds up to 20 chances to win.

But really, as long as we are engaging on the issue of big money in politics, talking about it and demanding that our representatives support the Democracy for All Amendment, we’re all winners. And if you don’t go in for that little league pep talk, click here for contest rules and regulations, and get busy working on your own Democracy for All Video submission! And don’t forget to head over to the Democracy For All Amendment petition and add your name in support of this important amendment.