Pete Buttigieg to rally in Butte on May 17 for I-194
Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to rally in Butte on May 17 for pete buttigieg, backing Initiative 194 and opposing corporate campaign spending. The event is being organized as petition supporters try to build enough signatures to qualify the measure for Montana voters by June 19.
Butte rally for I-194
The former U.S. Transportation secretary and 2020 presidential candidate is expected to speak in support of a proposal that would bar corporations from contributing anything of value to candidates, political parties, or state and local ballot issues. Jeff Mangan, the lead organizer for the Transparent Election Initiative and a former Montana commissioner of political practices, said organizers reached out after Buttigieg mentioned the Montana plan during a podcast interview.
Buttigieg said in a press release announcing his appearance, "Americans don’t have to accept a system where absurd amounts of corporate and dark money drown out their voices." He added, "A change to the law could ensure that elected leaders are more accountable to the people, which means a chance to finally break through and deliver on key issues from housing to health care."
Transparent Election Initiative push
Mangan said Initiative 194 would also ban spending by artificial persons, including nonprofits, trusts, partnerships, corporations, trade associations, or unincorporated associations. He said the penalty for violating the ban would be refusal of a license to do business in Montana.
The campaign comes after spending in Montana politics escalated after the 2010 Citizens United vs. the Federal Elections Commission ruling, and after spending by candidate committees and third parties in the state’s 2024 U.S. Senate race reached a record $300 million. Similar initiatives have also been launched in Pennsylvania and Hawaii.
June 19 signature deadline
Initiative organizers have until June 19 to produce roughly 30,000 signatures from registered Montana voters. Mangan said about 17,000 signatures had been collected since late March, but a few thousand are expected not to qualify, meaning the campaign will likely need to collect 40,000 signatures to clear the threshold.
Organizers have already held several promotional events featuring former Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and former governor Marc Racicot. The Butte rally adds a national political figure to a local petition drive that still has to turn attention into valid signatures in less than two months.
Butte is scheduled to be another stop in that effort, with the event’s time and place still being worked out.
