Montana Voters to Decide on Ban of Corporate Political Spending

The proposed Initiative 194 would prohibit artificial entities—including corporations, nonprofits, and trade associations—from contributing anything of value to candidates or influencing ballot issues. Violators face the forfeiture of their business privileges in the state. By Tuesday, the all-volunteer Transparent Election Initiative had collected nearly 50,000 signatures, far exceeding the 30,121 required to qualify for the ballot. The Montana Secretary of State has already verified over 34,000 of these submissions.

Jeff Mangan, the group's founder and a former state Commissioner of Political Practices, described the effort as a grassroots David versus Goliath battle. While the campaign recently fended off a legal challenge from various industry groups including the Montana Chamber of Commerce and the Montana Petroleum Association, Mangan anticipates a costly opposition campaign. The push in Montana follows recent legislative action in Hawaii, where lawmakers passed a bill asserting that corporations do not possess the same political rights as individuals, signaling a growing state-level movement to bypass the federal impasse surrounding the 2010 Citizens United ruling.