Dear Editor,

Now that we are all properly tired of election season and the campaign marketing that follows us everywhere, I’d like to talk about something more important than the latest political ad: the Constitution.

And I am asking for your help.

I learned a lot when I ran for Iowa House in 2024 as a first-time Libertarian candidate. The Libertarian Party had major-party status in Iowa then, but we were still a third party without the fundraising networks and financial machinery available to the two dominant parties.

The staff at the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board were friendly, helpful and patient as I navigated unfamiliar rules and worked to remain compliant. I was also impressed by Iowa’s campaign-finance transparency and the ability of everyday voters to see where campaign money comes from.

That matters… But transparency only takes us so far.

We can see the money. What we cannot always see is the influence enormous amounts of money can create. When political spending becomes concentrated among wealthy donors, corporations or powerful special interests, it gets awfully difficult for candidates and issues without those connections to be heard.

That should concern all of us, regardless of party.

September 17 is Constitution Day. It commemorates the signing of the Constitution in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. It is not the anniversary of ratification. The delegates signed the document that day. The states ratified it afterward, and the Constitution took effect after the ninth state ratified it in June 1788.

That distinction matters because the Constitution was never meant to be untouchable. Article V gives us a process for amending it, and Americans have used that process 27 times.

There is now a movement to use it again.

Twenty-five states have called on Congress to propose a constitutional amendment addressing money in elections. Iowa has not yet joined them.

H.J. Res. 191 is before Congress. State legislators can also pass a resolution asking Congress to propose the amendment. If Congress approves it by the required two-thirds vote in both chambers, the question goes back to the states. Three-fourths of the states, 38, would have to ratify it before it could become part of the Constitution.

And we know this will not get that far unless enough of us tell them we want it — and keep telling them.

Everything that is wrong in our government today did not appear out of nowhere. For every finger we point at corrupt politicians, wealthy donors, closed-door deals or captured institutions, there are still three fingers pointing back at us. We have a duty as diligent Americans to pay attention, ask questions, follow the money and use the tools the Constitution gives us.

Anger is not enough. Outrage is not enough. Posting about corruption is not enough. Accountability matters, and people who abuse power should be held responsible for what they have done. That is justice. But if we sit on our hands after seeing the signs, we should not be surprised when the same patterns keep repeating.

So this Constitution Day, I am asking Iowans to do something simple: talk to your neighbors. Look into the issue for yourself. Follow the money.

But MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!!! Contact your state legislators and tell them to pass that resolution. Contact your federal legislators and tell them to propose that amendment.

And don’t stop reminding them we see it in black and white as Amendment 28!!

You do not have to agree with me on everything. But we should be willing to have the conversation.

The Constitution belongs to We the People. If we believe something in our system needs to change, we have a constitutional process for doing that.

I do not know how such a simple principle eluded us for so long, but it is long overdue. So isn’t it time we used it?

Ashley Meredith

Vinton, Iowa

P.S. Look up any elected official, any level of government at www.usa.gov/elected-officials.

P.P.S. Look up campaign donations for federal candidates at https://www.fec.gov/data/

P.P.S.S. Look up ethics and campaign reports at the state and local level at https://webapp.iecdb.iowa.gov/welcome