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Montana voters have a chance to say how they feel about money and politics. A ballot measure would undo the local effects of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Montana Public Radio's Aaron Bolton reports.
AARON BOLTON, BYLINE: The Citizens United ruling in 2010 removed limits on how much corporations and also groups with anonymous donors called dark money could spend on elections. Jeff Mangan used to run the office overseeing campaign finance in Montana. He says there's too much money in state elections. Mangan is pushing a ballot initiative, he says, would eliminate spending from corporations and wealthy donors.
JEFF MANGAN: I think we will see more candidates more beholden to voters than they are fundraisers.
BOLTON: The initiative would bypass Citizens United by redefining corporations and their rights under state law.
MANGAN: So my tenet's (ph) going to use its authority to determine what powers a corporation has, and they'll have every power that they have today to do business with the exception of one, and that is to spend in our politics.
BOLTON: It would also block anonymous donations. But it's not clear if it'll work. There are similar initiatives around the country, and Hawaii already passed a law this year that is currently blocked in court. Todd O'Hair with the Montana Chamber of Commerce opposes the measure. O'Hair says eliminating dark money and big corporate spending sounds good on paper, but it would silence Montana businesses.
TODD O'HAIR: And frankly, the business community often has as much at stake in the outcome of an election as an individual voter. Sometimes more.
BOLTON: O'Hair says the only way for local businesses to influence things like tax policy is through political spending. He also argues banning anonymous political donations won't push wealthy people out of Montana politics. Brendan Glavin is with OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks political spending. He says the Montana initiative would make politics more transparent. But...
BRENDAN GLAVIN: Money is not going to dry up. People want to spend on elections. People are going to find a way to make that happen.
BOLTON: Glavin says plenty of millionaires and billionaires are happy to have their name attached to their political spending. There are plenty of open questions about how Montana's ballot measure would play out. But it will give voters a chance to weigh in directly on money and politics.
For NPR News, I'm Aaron Bolton in Columbia Falls, Montana.
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