We’re fighting to fix democracy.

Our Mission

We’re fighting to make democracy work for everyone.

Equal Citizens is dedicated to ending the corruption of representative democracy by restoring the core promise of citizen equality to the US Constitution. ✦ Proudly cross-partisan

Get Involved
Our Platform
Equal Representation
Citizens should be represented equally in elections.
Equal Dependence
Representatives should depend on citizens equally.
Equal Freedom to Vote
Citizens should have the same opportunity to vote.
DTA v. Schneider
As seen in
The Washington Post MSNBC 60 Minutes NY Post Sportico Magazine POLITICO The Bulwark The Boston Globe VICE News The Washington Post MSNBC 60 Minutes NY Post Sportico Magazine POLITICO The Bulwark The Boston Globe VICE News
Active Litigation

The case that could end SuperPACs

Dinner Table Action v. Schneider — U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit · No. 25-1705

In November 2024, Maine voters passed Question 1 by 75% — a ballot initiative capping individual contributions to SuperPACs at $5,000. It was one of the most decisive democracy wins in years. Then SuperPACs sued to kill it. Equal Citizens appealed, and is now in the First Circuit — a court that has never had the chance to determine whether SuperPAC contribution limits are constitutional.

A win here could go to the Supreme Court and rewrite the rules on campaign finance nationally. We would finally restore James Madison’s vision of a government “dependent on the people alone,” “not the rich more than the poor.”

Learn More View Amicus Briefs Read the Book
DTA v. Schneider
Case progress tracker
✓
Maine voters pass Question 1
November 2024 · 75% approval
✓
District court enjoins law
July 2025 · Equal Citizens appeals
✓
Opening & reply briefs filed
Oct 2025 – Jan 2026
→
First Circuit oral argument
Pending · 2026
○
Potential Supreme Court review
Fall 2026 →
75%
Maine voters who approved
$5K
Max SuperPAC contribution
Friends of the Court — Supporting Equal Citizens
Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Argues that a decade of experience since SpeechNow weighs strongly against extending Citizens United to contribution limits, and that Maine voters’ judgment warrants judicial deference.Read brief
Center for American Progress
Presents new empirical evidence showing that two factual premises of Citizens United—that independent expenditures cannot create the appearance of corruption, and will not erode public faith in democracy—have now failed.Read brief
Campaign Legal Center
Argues the Act is constitutionally permissible to prevent actual and apparent quid-pro-quo corruption, and is independently justified by the compelling governmental interest in preventing the appearance of corruption.Read brief
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
Documents specific criminal cases proving SuperPAC contributions can and do facilitate quid-pro-quo corruption, and shows that no viable alternative to contribution limits exists.Read brief
Mark Cuban, Reid Hoffman, Steve Jurvetson & Fellow Investors
Wealthy Americans with unique standing argue that unlimited SuperPAC contributions are low-value speech, fuel real corruption, and make government less responsive to ordinary voters. They urge limits on their own power.Read brief
Dēmos & Common Cause
Traces the history of contribution-based corruption from Watergate through the SuperPAC era and shows that Buckley’s contribution/expenditure distinction—reaffirmed in Citizens United—fully supports Maine’s law.Read brief
Former Members of Congress & Former Governors (Issue One)
Elected officials who served in the SuperPAC era explain from firsthand experience how limitless contributions have broken politics, distorted governance, and created real corruption that courts should not ignore.Read brief
Mainers for Working Families
The Maine-based organization that championed the ballot initiative argues that fifteen years of evidence confirm SuperPAC contributions fuel corruption, and urges the court to honor voters’ direct democratic judgment.Read brief
Professors Alschuler, Tribe & Eisen
Three leading constitutional scholars—including Harvard’s Laurence Tribe—argue that SpeechNow’s logic was flawed from the start, rested on dictum rather than holding, and has been comprehensively refuted by experience.Read brief
Our Mission

Ending the corruption of our representative democracy

We believe in the Constitution’s promise of citizen equality. Today that promise is broken — bought and sold by special interests. Equal Citizens uses law, research, and storytelling to take it back.

Strategic Litigation

Targeting the structural roots of corruption — including our landmark case in the First Circuit right now.

Citizen Mobilization

Empowering everyday Americans to become advocates, storytellers, and change-makers through Citizens Create.

Research & Advocacy

Legal and empirical research building the case for structural democratic reform.

“We believe that every single issue we care about — from climate change to gun safety, from health care to military spending — cannot be fixed until we fix democracy first.”
LL
Lawrence Lessig
Founder & Roy L. Furman Professor, Harvard Law
Lawrence Lessig
Our Work

Projects moving the needle on reform

Active Now

DTA v. Schneider

Defending Maine’s voter-passed SuperPAC contribution cap before the First Circuit. A win here will take us to the Supreme Court.

Follow the case

Another Way Podcast

A podcast by Lawrence Lessig about how we can get reforming and improving our democracy front and center — featuring conversations with politicians, authors, and activists.

Listen now

Against SuperPACs

Litigation and advocacy strategies to restore SuperPAC contribution limits.

Learn more

Research & Reports

In-depth analysis of corruption patterns, SuperPAC influence, and the legal path to structural reform.

View research

Citizens Create

Empowering everyday Americans to become advocates, storytellers, and change-makers for democracy reform.

Learn more

In the News

View more coverage →
Loading latest coverage…
Take Action

Democracy needs you — right now

Donate

Your contribution funds our litigation — including the First Circuit case defending Maine’s SuperPAC cap. Every dollar matters.

Give Now

Read the Brief

Our First Circuit brief lays out why Maine’s SuperPAC cap is constitutional — and why this case matters for every American voter.

Read the Brief

Spread the Word

Share DTA v. Schneider with your network. Public awareness of this case matters — it signals to the courts and to Congress that voters are watching.

Follow Us