1. United States
2. Utah
3. Letter

Utah should follow Montana's lead and adopt a constitutional initiative to end corporate and dark money in politics. Montana's Transparent Election Initiative, announced June 18 and headed to their 2026 ballot, offers a proven legal strategy that sidesteps Citizens United entirely. The approach is simple but powerful: instead of regulating corporate political spending, Montana will decline to grant corporations the power to spend money in politics from the outset. This leverages two centuries of Supreme Court precedent establishing that corporations have only the powers states give them, and states may define or revoke those powers for any reason. The initiative would affect all corporations operating in Montana, including out-of-state corporations and dark money groups organized under section 501(c) of the tax code. Utah has the same constitutional authority Montana is exercising. The Montana Plan has bipartisan backing from former Governor Marc Racicot, former RNC chairman, and former Governor Steve Bullock, along with support from Harvard, Yale, and NYU legal scholars. Montana's initiative text was published July 28, and their team is preparing to help other states adapt this approach. I want Utah to develop our own version of this constitutional initiative. Corporations should answer to the people who create them, not the other way around.