Virginia Should Follow Montana’s Lead on Citizens United Reform

In Montana, something remarkable is happening. A bipartisan group of former state officials has developed a legal strategy — called the Montana Plan — that may offer the most promising path to curbing corporate dark money in elections since Citizens United was decided in 2010. The approach is elegantly simple. Rather than challenging corporate free speech rights directly, it works at the level of state corporate law. Since corporations only exist because states create and charter them, states have the authority to define what powers those corporations hold — including whether they hold the power to spend money influencing elections. Montana’s initiative would strip that power from corporate charters entirely. The Montana Supreme Court recently dismissed a constitutional challenge to the initiative. It now has the green light for signature gathering and is headed toward the 2026 ballot, with 74% voter support — including majorities of Republicans and independents. This isn’t a partisan idea. Citizens United has flooded elections with anonymous corporate money across the political spectrum. Nearly 80% of Americans — including 74% of Republicans nationally — believe that unlimited corporate spending in elections gives rise to corruption. Virginia has an opportunity to lead. We urge you to direct your administration to study the Montana Plan and explore introducing a similar ballot initiative or legislative effort in Virginia. Our elections should be decided by citizens, not corporate checkbooks. The money that bought the last election didn’t represent us. It’s time to take that power back. Respectfully,