Ballot initiative 194, or the Montana Plan, will only allow individuals to spend on Montana elections. That means businesses, corporations and political groups with anonymous donors cannot donate.
The Institute for Free Speech is a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit advocacy group. The nonprofit filed a legal challenge on election day. It argues the measure will silence those groups.
Russ Cleveland is with the Transparent Election Initiative, which proposed the ballot question.
“The response to that is simple: if you want to spend, you simply have to do it now through political committee, whose donors are individuals, not shell companies or multiple layers of corporations that we can’t trace back to the individual donor,” he said.
Cleveland said voters have the right to see who’s trying to influence their vote through TV ads or flyers in their mailboxes. Backers also say it’ll reduce overall political spending.
Montana Chamber of Commerce President Todd O’Hair disagrees.
“I don’t think Montana voters will see any discernible difference at all in their mailboxes or their inboxes or the TV ads that they see,” he said.
O’Hair said small Montana businesses will be silenced.
The Institute for Freedom in its lawsuit argues the Montana Plan violates the 2010 Citizens United decision. That protected businesses’ and other groups’ right to spend on elections. The nonprofit also filed a legal challenge against a similar law in Hawaii.
Cleveland said the Montana Plan’s supporters are ready to defend it.
If it passes legal muster, the Montana Legislature will be required to codify the measure into law. Cleveland also expects lawmakers who oppose the initiative will attempt to water it down.
