A Wall Street firm wants to turn our elections into a day at the racetrack, where investors can rake in massive profits by betting on which party they think will win. And guess what? Federal regulators are quietly considering this outrageous proposal.

As absurd as it is to say this: We need to tell regulators not to legalize gambling on US elections.

It’s not in the public interest to give rich investors new ways of manipulating and extracting profit from our elections. Billionaires who bet on a particular party to win will use any tool at their disposal to ensure that outcome. They will flood social media platforms with disinformation and could even coerce their workers to vote in whatever way makes them profit.

Giving every rich person on Wall Street a reason to manipulate and abuse our democracy is unconscionable.

Let’s be real. Wall Street Billionaires like Jeffrey Yass already rig the rules of our elections by funneling millions into campaigns and ultimately profiting off the policies that pro-corporation and pro-billionaire candidates implement once they win. Allowing even more ways and incentives for the ultra-rich to game the system in their favor is the exact opposite of what American democracy needs and what federal regulators should do.

Giving billionaires and Wall Street ANOTHER way to profit from elections, increasing the incentives to skew elections with their money and the potential to make all of that money back -- exponentially -- from successful bets, should be an automatic non-starter.

But in the face of Wall Street power, money, and pressure, we can’t count on federal regulators to make the right decision if they don’t hear opposition to the plan from the public at large.

That’s where we come in. We must not sit by and let the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) succumb to pressures from Wall Street to treat our democracy like a commodity.

Tell Federal Regulators:
Don’t let Wall Street Bet on Elections by adding your name to our public comment to the CFTC now.

Full Comment Text:

Dear Commissioners,

I strongly oppose KalshiEX’s plan to enable gambling on the outcome of elections. This proposal would undermine our democracy and threaten the fabric of our entire political system.

Any investor who bets on a particular party to win an election would have every incentive to use any tool at their disposal to ensure that outcome. This proposal would give every investor on Wall Street a reason to become an insurrectionist. They could flood social media platforms with disinformation if they think it would help them. They could coerce their employees to vote for their preferred candidate. This proposal stands firmly in opposition to the public interest, because it invites malicious interference into our electoral process by Wall Street investors.

We must be realistic about who will use and abuse the ability to bet on elections. More than half households in the US cannot afford a $1000 emergency expense, so this proposal, which sets a minimum investment of $1000, invites electoral intervention from only the wealthiest people in the world. Our electoral system is already threatened by malicious intervention from various sources; it is unconscionable to invite even more

We saw in the aftermath of the 2020 election just how vulnerable our political system is to manipulation and abuse. KalshiEX’s plan invites manipulation and abuse into our political system. At a moment when confidence in US institutions is at historic lows, this proposal would be catastrophic. I urge you to say no to any and all plans to allow gambling on the outcome of elections.

Sincerely,