March against big money in politics begins Saturday in Philly

A national coalition aiming to improve democracy by taking big money out of politics and expanding voting rights is kicking off a 10-day march to Washington with a rally outside the Liberty Bell on Saturday.

Organizers of what is being called "Democracy Spring" said the nonviolent, family-friendly rally will begin at 10 a.m. with speeches and music.

Scheduled speakers include Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard University law professor who briefly ran for president but dropped out of the Democratic primary race in December after the debate rules changed; actress Gaby Hoffmann, known for her roles in the TV series Girls and Transparent; and Kai Newkirk, campaign director of Democracy Spring.

Organizers are hoping for a crowd of 300 to 500.

Newkirk said Philadelphia was chosen because it is "the home of the Constitution, the place you could say where the dream of democracy in our country took flight."

As of Thursday, he said 104 people had committed to make the 140-mile trek from the Liberty Bell to the Capitol to show "that we are committed to walking the road, literally, to a new day for our democracy."

He said marchers would carry the U.S. flag as they walk alongside roads. Most participants will spend the nights in churches. Organizers expect the group will grow along the way.

The trek is to begin Saturday at noon from the Liberty Bell. A spokeswoman for the Philadelphia Police Department said the organizers' permit called for marchers to walk west on Walnut Street to the University of Pennsylvania campus, continue on Springfield Avenue, and then west to Cobbs Creek.

Alex Shepherd, of the march's Philadelphia-area logistics team, said there could be temporary lane blockages. Marchers will follow Route 13 before ending for the day at Catania Park on Ketcham Avenue in Ridley Park.

When the marchers reach Washington, they expect to be joined by hundreds of others. Over the next week, plans call for them to visit members of Congress and stage nonviolent sit-ins to press for passage of bills to expand voting rights, ensure fair elections, and overturn the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision, which Newkirk said "opened the doors to the big-money interests that are buying elections and corrupting our political process."

The march boasts endorsements from more than 100 local and national groups, including 15 Now Philly, Friends of the Earth, MoveOn, the National Organization for Women (NOW), the Unitarian Universalist Church of Delaware County, and Occupy Catholics.

martha.woodall@phillynews.com 215-854-2789 @marwooda