“92% of the time the candidate that raises the most money wins in the general election.”
(Source: Grossman. Niskanen Center. Oct. 29, 2025)
With the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010, the floodgates opened to unlimited corporate and dark money. A donor can give millions of dollars to a nonprofit PAC (political action committee) completely anonymously and disguise the sources of their funds. (Source: Roosevelt Institute.15 Years After Citizens United Fact Sheet Oct. 2, 2025)
When state and federal anti-corruption laws were invalidated by the Supreme Court, it established a precedent that allowed corporations and other entities to exercise a “free speech” right to spend limitless amounts of money to sway elections. (Source: Roosevelt Institute Publications, 15 Years After Citizens United. Fact Sheet Oct. 2, 2025) Although these organizations must report direct political expenditures to the Federal Election Commission, expenses entitled “educational” or “membership building” often evade these disclosure requirements.
Super PACs may “disclose” their top funders, but those funders may be dark money groups with generic names like Majority Forward or One Nation, where the money trail ends.
The hidden influence can potentially skew democratic processes, as voters are not fully informed as to who is trying to sway their opinions and votes or their motivations.
Dark money groups and PACs are not supposed to coordinate with the candidates they are supporting. However, many are run by people personally close to or formerly associated with a candidate. These groups can coordinate with each other, and often do so in choosing which races and candidates to target. (Source: www.opensecrets.org/dark-money/top-elections)
One study shows that dark money groups spent almost $2 billion on the 2024 election, roughly double the total spent in 2020. And that’s the money that could be tracked. The real total is likely substantially higher. This is a 2800% rise in outside spending since 2010.
Ninety-two percent of Americans polled in 2021 agree that Congress prioritizes the interests of big outside spenders, passing laws that benefit those donors. (Source: Roosevelt Institute Publications, 15 Years After Citizens United. Fact Sheet Oct. 2, 2025)
“The ultra-wealthy’s power has soared while the public’s trust in government has collapsed. Because when dollars are considered speech, most Americans are vastly outmatched. Among people who donate to political action committees, most give less than $100. In 2024, however, the top donor to outside-spending groups spent more than $290 million.” (Source: Roosevelt Institute, 15 Years After Citizens United Rundown. 10/2/2025)
In contrast, individuals’ contributions to a candidate are limited by the FEC to $3500 unless contributed to a political party. (Source: FCC Open Secrets Contribution Limits in Federal Elections 2025-2026)
Seventy-five percent of Americans support overturning Citizens United. (Source: Transparent Election Initiative. Press release. June 18, 2025)
In Montana, the Transparent Election Initiative is organizing to defang the disastrous Supreme Court decision with a plan that could work here in Washington. Their plan offers a state-level path to making the Citizens United decision irrelevant by changing the state constitution. The initiative is the first legally airtight, state-driven path for taking dark money spending out of US elections-no waiting for Congress, the FEC, or a change in Supreme Court doctrine. (Source: Transparent Election Initiative. Press release. June 18, 2025)
“Montanans are now putting forth an ingenious ballot measure that, while it wouldn’t legally overturn that ruling, it would negate its consequences.” [Source: Transparent Election Initiative.] All American corporations are chartered and given their powers by state governments, which means that state governments (or voters in states where initiatives and referendums can enact or change laws) can rewrite their charters to deny corporations the power to involve themselves in elections.
“The Montana Plan rests on a fundamental distinction in American law: the difference between a corporation’s ‘rights’ and its ‘powers.” Corporations are creatures of law; they have no existence and no power until a government grants them some.
“As Chief Justice John Marshall established in 1819, a corporation is an artificial being that possesses only the properties conferred upon it by the state that creates it.
While Citizens United granted corporations the First Amendment right to spend in elections, a state can choose to no longer grant them the power to do so in their charters. Under standard corporate law, an out-of-state (foreign) corporation cannot exercise any power in a state that the state does not grant to its own domestic corporations.
“If Montana passes its initiative, or Washington State were to pass a similar initiative, any corporation, regardless of where it is headquartered, would lose the power to spend in that State’s elections if it wished to do business in the state.” (Source: American Prospect. Montanans Go After ‘Citizens United.’ Oct. 27, 2025)
On Jan. 6, 2026, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed the Attorney General’s ruling that the ballot initiative violated part of Montana’s Constitution, which states that if more than one constitutional amendment is submitted, voters must be able to vote on each issue separately. On Jan. 8, 2026 Jeff Mangan, founder of the TEI, refiled two revised ballot measures. “Whether through the Constitution or statute, Montanans will have their say,” said Jeff Mangan. (Source: Mable. Montana Free Press. Jan. 8, 2026) When their voice is heard, other states may decide to follow the Montana Plan as well.
Millions of Americans are struggling to get by, and their voices shouldn’t be drowned out by millions of dollars in secret, special-interest advertising. The American people’s voices should be heard. (Source: President Obama. White House. July 26, 2020)
Dark Money Part II will follow, describing our state’s activities on this subject.
Indivisible San Juan Islands
Tam Bresler, Barbara Dunn, Debbi & Brad Fincher, Susan Grout, Mark & Darlene Hampton, Beth Helstien, Diane Martindale, Cynthia McVeigh, and Audrey Stewart
