Montana Has an Ambitious Plan to End Dark Money in Elections

"Fifteen years after a landmark Supreme Court case turbocharged corporate spending in the political process, a group hopes it may have a way to finally rein in some of the outsized influence of the ultrawealthy. The 2010 ruling on Citizens United opened the floodgates of political spending in elections. Every year since then, untraceable financial political contributions, largely from corporations and wealthy individuals, have increased dramatically."

"The idea is the brainchild of Tom Moore, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. Moore, who laid out his reasoning in a white paper on September 15, 2025, is arguing that states have the legal authority to define corporate charters and therefore can redefine them at any time. "The states' authority is absolute in terms of how they define their corporations and which powers they decide to give their corporations.""

The 2010 Citizens United decision dramatically increased corporate and wealthy-individual political spending and untraceable contributions have grown each year since. A proposed 2026 Montana ballot measure would use state authority over corporate charters to limit corporate political influence. Tom Moore, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, detailed the legal basis in a white paper dated September 15, 2025, arguing that states can redefine corporate charters and their powers. Moore previously served as chief of staff at the Federal Election Commission and collaborated with Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan, who committed to pursue the plan in Montana.

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