Group of Corporations, Industry Organizations Sue to Stop Anti-Dark Money Ballot Initiative
The group, which includes the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, argues the potential ballot initiative is unconstitutional, while those who are working to pass it say the lawsuit is an attempt to quiet Montanans’ voices
By Mariah Thomas
A group of Montana corporations, including the state’s Chamber of Commerce, Montana Mining Association, Montana Petroleum Association and more locally, Kalispell’s Chamber of Commerce, filed a lawsuit with the state’s Supreme Court this week, arguing an initiative attempting to qualify for the ballot this fall is unconstitutional and asking the court to declare it legally insufficient.
The initiative, Ballot Issue 10, is an attempt to rein in dark money in Montana’s elections. Dubbed “The Montana Plan,” the proposal limits business entities in the state from contributing to candidates, political parties and state ballot issues.
Montana’s history with dark money in elections is long and layered. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the influence of the “Copper Kings” reigned supreme in Montana, until voters approved the state’s 1912 Corrupt Practices Act. The act banned corporations from spending money to influence elections in the state. But Citizens United, a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision that opened the door to corporate money in politics, was used as the basis for the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down Montana’s law in 2012.
“The Montana Plan” has been heralded as a loophole to overturn the Citizens United decision. It’s that case the corporations hinge their legal argument upon, at least in part, as they ask the state’s Supreme Court to declare the initiative unconstitutional.
In their filing, the groups say Ballot Issue 10 would restrict their protected political speech under the First Amendment. They also argue the ballot issue is “unconstitutionally vague” due to language restricting business entities from “expend[ing] money or anything of value,” and due to a lack of geographical constraints; and that it requires companies that wish to do business in the state to give up a constitutional right.
“Montana cannot condition the privilege of doing business in Montana on the loss of First Amendment rights,” the filing states. “And BI-10’s vague terms will cause significant First Amendment chill to both entities and individuals.”
Backers of the initiative see it differently. In a press release Thursday, the Transparent Election Initiative — the group backing BI-10 — framed the lawsuit as the corporations’ attempt to “use the courts to silence a growing, citizen-led movement and protect the influence of large corporate interests.”
“What I’m complaining about — and when I say complaining, I mean I’m more surprised or shocked — is that industries would try to stop Montanans from collecting signatures. That should outrage every Montanan,” said Jeff Mangan, a former Commissioner of Political Practices who is spearheading the campaign for the ballot initiative, in an interview with the Beacon.
Monday’s filing serves as the latest in a number of legal battles the initiative’s backers have faced during their attempts to qualify the initiative for the ballot.
The attorney general declared the group’s original proposal, submitted as a constitutional amendment, legally insufficient in November. The Montana Supreme Court agreed with that determination, triggering a resubmission of the issue as a statutory initiative instead. That would allow it to be enshrined into state law, but not into the state Constitution.
The group got the green light to begin collecting signatures just last week. The latest filing comes as the group works to gather 60,000 signatures before a June 19 deadline to qualify the initiative for the November 2026 ballot. Should the initiative qualify for the November ballot, voters would then have a chance to weigh in.
Per Thursday’s press release, the group will continue its signature gathering efforts as the latest legal challenge works its way through the court. Those efforts have attracted more than 600 volunteers statewide.