It might still be 2025, but this week, I’ve been thinking a lot about 2026 — and, more specifically, several prospective ballot initiatives for voters to weigh in on next November. I’m Mariah Thomas, here with your Daily Roundup this Wednesday.

Weighing heavy on my brain today is an event taking place next Monday for voters to learn more about the Transparent Election Initiative’s “The Montana Plan.” That ballot issue aims to undo the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a 2010 case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, overruled a previous decision limiting corporations’ spending in elections. It opened the door for corporations to more-heavily contribute to political campaigns, along with giving rise to super PACs, or political action committees, that can hold major influence in politics.

In 2012, Citizens United was also used as a basis for the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a century-old Montana law that banned corporations from spending money to influence elections in the state. That law, known as the 1912 Corrupt Practices Act, had been passed at the state level following a period of corporate control and corruption when the Copper Kings controlled the levers of state government and the economy in Montana.

National polling has consistently shown wide disapproval of the court’s decision in Citizens United.

“The Montana Plan” aims to undo the decision in the form of a citizen-approved constitutional initiative. It was submitted to the Secretary of State’s office on Aug. 1 and is in the process of being approved to gather signatures to qualify for the November 2026 ballot.

Per the proposal submitted to the Secretary of State, “The Montana Plan” would add a new section to Article XIII of the state’s constitution “to define the powers of artificial persons, including corporations, as only those the constitution expressly grants and provide that artificial persons have no power to spend money or anything of value on elections or ballot issues.”

The plan is being championed by the Transparent Election Initiative, a nonpartisan nonprofit founded by Jeff Mangan, the former Montana Commissioner of Political Practices.

It’s still early in the process for the ballot initiative — it needs to qualify to collect signatures and then gather Montanans’ support to make it onto the ballot — but that’s not stopping the Transparent Election Initiative from sharing information about the plan.

On Monday, the group will visit with Flathead-area residents at a public forum in Kalispell. Those interested in learning more can visit the Northwest Montana History Museum on Oct. 27 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The museum is located at 124 2^nd Ave. E.

The event is free and open to the public, and per a press release, it will include presentations on “Montana’s long fight against corporate influence in politics, the history of dark money in the state, and how The Montana Plan offers a groundbreaking constitutional solution.”

“This is Montana stepping forward to defend democracy in the way we always have — by putting people before powerful interests,” Mangan said.

In addition to “The Montana Plan,” a slate of other ballot initiatives submitted to the Secretary of State’s office for consideration on the 2026 ballot have served as a focus for this reporter this week. Three submitted initiatives aiming to enshrine nonpartisan judicial elections into the state’s constitution have resulted in three lawsuits against the attorney general — and you can read more about that by scrolling through the rest of the Daily Roundup. Let’s get to it.   

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To find out more about Sassy and other pet adoption opportunities at the Humane Society of Northwest Montana go to: www.humanesocietypets.com. To donate to the Humane Society of Northwest Montana, visit the organization’s donation page here.