Free Speech For People applauds The Montana Plan, and the work of the Center for American Progress and Montana voters to rein in corporations that have abused the power of corporate charters to undermine Montana elections and drown out the voices of the people.
For over a century, Montana, like every state in the United States, has chosen to give corporations extraordinary powers and privileges. Corporations have used these powers and privileges to accumulate vast amounts of wealth, which for the last fifteen years—since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling—they have spent by the tens of millions to influence our elections, including through dark money contributions hidden from the public.
No state is required to give corporations such broad powers and privileges. Historically, states granted corporations only limited powers for narrow business purposes. The states have the authority to define and revise the powers they grant to their corporations—and that is precisely what The Montana Plan does. Rather than revoke or reissue corporate charters, the initiative revises Montana’s constitution to grant only those powers the people of Montana believe are necessary or convenient for corporations to carry out their lawful business or charitable purposes—a list of powers that does not include the power to spend in politics.
Montana has compelling reasons to want to protect its elections from corporate spending. Voters have seen the consequences of Citizens United and SpeechNow, the lower court ruling that created super PACs. They have seen tens of millions of dollars from corporations pour into our elections, creating dangerous opportunities for corruption, compromising our candidates and officials, undermining our democracy, and squeezing voters out of spaces where they might be heard. The Montana Plan demonstrates that voters are no longer standing for the continued abuse of the powers that the state has granted to corporations and other artificial entities.
Free Speech For People applauds The Montana Plan, and looks forward to the process that hopefully will carry it from the Secretary of State’s office to the 2026 Montana ballot.