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Vast amounts of corporate and dark money have inundated our politics since the US Supreme Court ruled on Citizens United v Federal Election Commission in 2010. The decision basically said that corporations and unions have the same First Amendment rights as individuals, thus giving them the power to spend money in elections and reversing century-old campaign finance constraints.
This led to the creation of what are known as dark money groups, which are not legally required to reveal their donors, yet are able to put unlimited funds into election campaigns. Anna Massoglia, in a recent expert brief for the Brennan Justice Center, reported that dark money groups spent more than $1.9 billion on last year’s federal races, almost doubling the $1 billion doled out in 2020. Massoglia added that because undisclosed political spending is difficult to track, the $1.9 billion figure may considerably underestimate the actual total.
In the last state and federal election cycle, I became exasperated at the multitude of campaign ads in my mailbox, on my TV screen, and online. And I found it frustrating that I could not find many of the ads’ sponsors. Consequently, when Jeff Mangan, a former Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, began his listening sessions on the Transparency Election Initiative (TEI), I was immediately interested.
Prior to attending Mangan’s listening session, I knew that several federal-level attempts had failed to roll back Citizens United. But Mangan presented a new approach, The Montana Plan, offering a simple solution to the problem of corporate and dark money in Montana elections.
Through Montana’s constitutional initiative process, The Montana Plan would limit corporate and dark money spending by granting corporations only those powers the people of Montana have agreed, in existing state law, are necessary or convenient to carry out their lawful business or charitable purposes. That list of powers does not include the power to spend in politics.
The initiative would limit corporate and dark money spending by modifying corporate charters granted by Montana. As noted in a recent edition of the Daily Montanan, “The new and untested method would leverage the state’s inherent power to regulate corporates through the charter process. The language of the proposed state constitutional amendment would prohibit corporations from making political contributions, except in very specific circumstances. Meanwhile, individuals would be free to spend on candidates and causes.”
The initiative’s use of the term “artificial person" aptly describes the entities whose activities would be impacted by the proposed initiative, because they exist only by grant of the state as opposed to being actual humans. According to TEI’s proposed constitutional amendment, “‘artificial person’ refers to every entity whose existence or limited-liability shield is conferred by Montana law, including, without limitation:
(i) business corporations;
(ii) nonprofit corporations (public-benefit, mutual-benefit, religious);
(iii) limited-liability companies;
(iv) unincorporated associations, limited-liability partnerships, statutory trusts, professional corporations, cooperatives, and any successor form;
(v) Foreign Entities that are authorized to transact business, are otherwise transacting business, or hold property in Montana. Any Foreign Entity that directly or indirectly undertakes, finances, or directs Election Activity or Ballot-Issue Activity in the state of Montana is conclusively deemed to be transacting business in this state.”
Early this month, TEI submitted the proposed constitutional initiative text and ballot statement to the Montana Secretary of State, who we expect to issue an official sample petition form next spring.
At that point, we will begin the hard work of signature gathering, aiming to collect the required 60,000 geographically distributed signatures, or 10% of the votes cast for governor in the most recent general election. The signatures must then be certified by county officials by the end of October 2025, before being verified and tabulated by the Secretary of State, which will then certify to the Governor that the petition qualifies for the November ballot.
If you’re interested in pitching in, TEI currently has two main asks. The first is to spread information and awareness to neighbors and communities about The Montana Plan, and the second is raising the funds needed to drive the initiative.
You can find information on how to donate and spread the word at https://transparentelection.org/. In-person group talks led by The Montana Plan volunteers are also possible – just email tei@transparentelection.org. Thank you.
Debra Hanneman, a geologist and President of Whitehall Geogroup, Inc., is a volunteer for the Transparent Election Initiative. She lives in Whitehall.
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