Clean Elections Minnesota · Taking Action for Fairness and Justice

“We can either have democracy in this country, or we can have extreme wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.” – Justice Brandeis

“The government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result.” – Former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

“No one will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“For this nation to remain true to its principles, we cannot allow any American's vote to be denied, diluted, or defiled. The right to vote is the crown jewel of American liberties, and we will not see its luster diminished.” – Ronald Reagan

Clean Elections Minnesota is a non-profit, non-partisan group of Minnesotans concerned that the power of Big Money, Dark Money, and Corporate Money is overwhelming the public interest in local, state, and national elections. We're dedicated to educating ourselves and others about ways to maintain and enhance the democratic power of ordinary citizens. Follow us on Twitter (@CleanMinnesota) and like us on Facebook.

For more about our activities since incorporating as a 501c3 in 2017, click on the Our Accomplishments link under "About" in the menu bar at the of this page.

To contribute online, click the donate button. To donate by mail, make a check payable to Clean Elections Minnesota and mail to Clean Elections MN Treasurer, 292 Ryan Avenue., Saint Paul, MN 55102. If you're in a retirement account and old enough to be subject to an annual required minimum distribution (RMD), you can reduce your taxable income by having all or part of the RMD sent directly from your retirement account to Clean Elections MN (or any other organization whose donations are tax deductible).

Latest Posts

George Beck writes for LWVMN May newsletter

An essay about Clean Elections MN by George Beck appears in the May 2021 issue of the Minnesota League of Women Voters’ “All Member News.” Scroll down to find CEM Chair Beck’s essay in the “Partner Spotlight.” On the way there, you can stop to learn about Asian Pacific Heritage Month (May), Sweet Potato Comfort Pie, what’s up in the legislature, and other news and events. We’re proud to be in such excellent company. Want to know more about Minnesota’s League–or donate? Click here.

Nancy MacLean Zooms Again

Last Fall we hosted a fascinating conversation with Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains, a finalist for the National Book Award, about the decades-long campaign the well-financed radical right has conducted to subvert our democracy. On May 19th of this year MacLean was interviewed by Don Shelby and Sam Grant, Executive Director of MN350. Rep Emma Greenman also participated. Professor MacLean traces the roots of this radical attack on our shared values to the racist reaction against Brown v. Board of Education–and even before to John C. Calhoun, “Marxist of the Master Class.” Published in 2017, the book now looks prescient; to its readers, the attack on our 2020 election and the assault on the capitol in D.C. was shocking, but should not have been completely surprising. In her interview with Don Shelby, as before, MacLean combined her dire warning about the perils of our fragile democracy with an engagingly upbeat demeanor. Like previous Happy Warrior politicians, she calls for collective action of the sort that ended slavery in the 19th century and led to the New Deal in the 20th. Participatory democracy is the antidote to personal despondency as well as economic depression.

Sponsor: Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers.

So-sponsored by Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota, Indivisible MN03, Plymouth Area Indivisible, Minnesota Peace Project, MN Move to Amend, Spotlight Team, Women Against Military Madness, and, of course Clean Elections Minnesota.

“Big Election Spenders” – Part 1

Saturday, April 10, 10 a.m. CST. This event with Richard Painter was the first in a series of American Promise sponsored events on Big Election Spenders. More information will appear here as it becomes available. If you missed Richard Painter in real time, go here for a recording. American Promise works nationally and in MN to promote a 28th Amendment to the US Constitution to overturn Citizens United. Like Clean Elections MN, American Promise believes corporations are not people and money is not speech. Click here to register for their monthly meeting, April 26. All friends of Clean Elections are invited.

“Money in Elections Matters”

May 4, 2021, Noon – 1 p.m. CST:

Clean Elections Chair George Beck participated in a virtual event, a panel discussion of the influence of money in our politics. Also participating, Associate Professor Kathryn Pearson. The moderator was Ricardo Lopez of the Minnesota Reformer.

“Money is the gas that pays for consultants, staff, and advertising…. Not surprisingly, elected politicians remember who give cash.”

Click here to watch a recording of the lively discussion.