By Sen. Kay Hagan
www.news-record.com

In what has been called one of the worst Supreme Court rulings since the founding of our nation, the 2010 Citizens United decision gutted 100 years' worth of laws attempting to limit corruption in our political system.

Since then, hundreds of millions of dollars of "dark money" have been spent by outside groups whose donors are free to hide in the shadows. This influx of big dollar spending totaled $400 million in the 2012 elections alone.

A new rash of outside spending saturating our state threatens to completely drown out the voices of North Carolina voters. The voices of everyday people simply can't be heard above the out-of-state groups that want to have the final say in North Carolina's elections. We've seen more than $20 million already spent in North Carolina for November's election, much of it by groups that don't disclose their donors. And we know next to nothing about the groups spending this money and who or what special interests are behind them. Many of them have shadowy origins, often with nothing but a post office box for contact information.

In order to ensure that it is North Carolina voters who hold the power in their elections, not corporations or special interests, I've sponsored the DISCLOSE Act to make spending in politics more transparent and win back America's faith in its government. The DISCLOSE Act would allow the public to easily follow the money trail in elections and bring accountability back to the system.

I have also teamed up with Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico on a proposed constitutional amendment that would reverse Citizens United and restore integrity in our election system by authorizing Congress to regulate the raising and spending of money for federal political campaigns, including independent expenditures by super PACs, and allowing states to regulate such spending at their level.

The Senate will be taking up this proposed amendment this week, and it is critical that we move it forward so we can shed some light on the secret entities behind campaign donations.

To know the voices of the many are being drowned out by the wallets of the few is disheartening and runs counter to the ideals of America's democracy. This outside spending is coming from individuals and organizations that don't know our state, don't share our values and don't have North Carolinians' best interests at heart. These groups have cast an ominous cloud over the transparent political process that our founders envisioned.

I put North Carolina first in everything I do - every bill I introduce and every vote I take. North Carolinians deserve accountability. They deserve to hear from both sides and make their own decisions. They shouldn't have distorted messages forced on them at every commercial break or trip to the mailbox from shadowy national groups that are only seeking to buy elections and pick North Carolinians' elected officials for them.

To read this Op/Ed online at the Greensboro News-Record, please click here.