Montana votes to ban corporate political money. Next stop? Probably the Supreme Court
CNBC · Luke Fountain ·
Montana voters approved a novel strategy to restrict corporate political spending, setting up a constitutional fight that could reach the Supreme Court.
Imagine a corporation wants to spend $10 million to defeat a political candidate. Under the Supreme Court's landmark 2010 Citizens United ruling, it can spend as much as it wants provided it doesn't coordinate with the candidate's campaign.
On Tuesday, Montana voted to change that.
In a state President Donald Trump won by nearly 20 points in 2024, roughly 65% of Montanans voted to approve Initiative 194 – the "Montana Plan" – embracing a novel legal strategy to curb corporate political spending. If states cannot restrict political speech under Citizens United, can they instead strip corporations of the power to spend money on elections?