Montana voters approve Initiative 194, taking away the power of nonprofits and corporations to spend on elections
The Associated Press projected the measure's passage after the Nov. 3 election. From Jan. 1, 2027, a nonprofit or company that spends for or against a Montana candidate or ballot issue would forfeit its charter privileges, including limited liability.
Votes on Initiative 194, election night count
Helena. Montana voters have approved Initiative 194, a state law that takes away the power of corporations, nonprofits and other "artificial persons" to spend money for or against candidates, political parties and ballot issues in the state. The Associated Press projected its passage after the Nov. 3 election, The Washington Sun reported.
In the secretary of state's election night count, updated on Nov. 5 with 727 of 728 precincts fully reported, 302,141 votes were for the measure and 159,455 against. The results have not been certified. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, under its own text.
What the law does
Called the Montana Plan Act, the measure redefines the powers state law gives to artificial persons, which its ballot language says include nonprofits, trusts, partnerships, corporations, trade associations and unincorporated associations. Those powers no longer include spending money or anything of value for or against a candidate, party or political committee in a Montana election, or a ballot question. The law reaches entities from other states that do business or hold property in Montana. Individuals, government bodies, political committees and news content are exempt.
An organization that spends anyway forfeits the charter privileges Montana law gives it, including limited liability, and can be reinstated only after giving up all it spent and certifying future compliance. The secretary of state is to write enforcement rules, and the attorney general may sue.
Federal tax law already bars 501(c)(3) organizations from intervening in campaigns for or against candidates. The IRS counts advocacy on a ballot initiative as lobbying, which a charity may do as long as it is not a substantial part of its activities. Initiative 194 takes that power away from the organizations it covers.
Court challenges expected
The campaign was led by the Transparent Election Initiative, whose president, Jeff Mangan, is a former Montana commissioner of political practices. Tom Moore, a former Federal Election Commission lawyer who designed the approach, told Bloomberg Law he hopes for a Supreme Court test of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the 2010 decision that struck down limits on corporate election spending, and expects a lawsuit against the Montana law almost at once.
Opponents, including the Montana Chamber of Commerce, say the law conflicts with the First Amendment. A coalition of business groups that included the chamber asked the Montana Supreme Court to strike the measure before it qualified for the ballot; the court dismissed the case this spring, saying a ruling at that stage would be advisory.
Hawaii enacted a similar law in May, set to take effect July 1. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a libertarian think tank have challenged it in court, according to Bloomberg Law.
About this story
501c3.help wrote this story from the sources listed with it, not from material an organization sent. Our editors approved it on Nov. 5, 2026. Stories in The Nonprofit Herald are free, and nothing is asked in return. Editorial rules.
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