At the second anniversary of the Citizens United decision, there can no longer be any doubt—the political world has been changed in profound ways, and for the worse. If there’s a general sense in this election cycle that anything goes—at least in terms of political money and advertising—it’s in part because that Supreme Court decision, which struck down limitson independent political spending by corporations. Lax enforcement of other campaign laws, and the Court’s hint that it might go even further, have also contributed to what is sure to be an ugly, big money election.

Is there any way to correct for the damage Citizens United has wrought? There’s little chance that the Supreme Court will reverse course, not before at least one of the five Justices in the Citizens United majority is replaced. Faced with that reality, a handful of organizations have begun to push for an amendment to the Constitution to reverse Citizens United. On Tuesday, the country’s best-known campaign finance reform group, Common Cause, joined the amendment movement, proposing to place initiatives on the ballot in several states calling on Congress to pass such a constitutional amendment. Unfortunately, this is not only a futile project, but an idea that poses a danger to the cause.

The long-standing movement for campaign finance reform has often been weakened by its tendency to pull in several different directions. A decade ago, reformers were squabbling over whether to focus on limiting contributions to $100, banning soft money at the federal level, or enacting full public financing in the states. In recent years, however, a welcome consensus has emerged in favor proposals for public financing, drawing on successful programs in Arizona, Maine, New York City and Connecticut. A majority of Democrats and a few Republicans co-sponsored the Fair Elections Now Act, based on those successes, in the last Congress. The constitutional amendment movement will be yet another distraction from these efforts.

The main problem isn’t that the effort to pursue a constitutional amendment would be futile—though it certainly would be. Advocates know that, and point out correctly that futility has never, in itself, been an argument against pursuing a constitutional amendment. After all, most efforts to amend the Constitution fail, but the efforts to pass them can have residual benefits, by giving supporters a long-term vision along with incremental steps that can be achieved through legislation or cultural change. The Equal Rights Amendment is the classic example of an amendment that fell short, but gave its advocates an organizing principle and clear goal that allowed them to achieve incremental wins along the way. The legal framework for gender equality is arguably as strong now as it would be if the ERA had been ratified.

A proposal to amend the Constitution to establish a right to vote would have a similar movement-building value. Most people assume the right to vote is in the Constitution, and understanding that it isn’t can lead to a healthy discussion about why we restrict voting in so many ways. A movement for a right-to-vote amendment would give focus to efforts to overturn voter identification laws and allow same-day voter registration.