A campaign submitted 50,000 signatures to county officials on June 16 for verification to qualify a ballot initiative that would prohibit nonprofits, trusts, partnerships, corporations, trade associations, or unincorporated associations, and all entities doing business in Montana from contributing to campaigns, ballot measure elections, or political parties. The initiative classifies these entities as artificial persons and prohibits them from political spending. Violations of the law would result in forfeiting all privileges to do business in Montana.
To qualify an initiated state statute in Montana, petitioners need to collect signatures equal to 5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election (30,121 signatures). Montana also has a distribution requirement that requires proponents to collect signatures equal to 5% of the qualified electors in each of one-third (34) of the state's 100 legislative districts.
Transparent Election Initiative, the campaign behind the initiative, filed the initiative on Jan. 8, 2026. It was cleared for signature gathering on March 10.
