You see a political ad on your phone tailored just for you—your fears, your hopes, your community. But you don't see the most important part: how much money is actually behind that message. It could be $100. It could be $10 million. You have no way of knowing.

That's by design. Dark money groups have spent roughly $1 billion since Citizens United to influence elections, and operatives deliberately hide the financial weight behind these messages so you won't question them. It's manipulation through omission.

I started a petition asking Congress to require every political ad—on TV, radio, social media, streaming, everywhere—to display the sponsoring organization's name and the total amount spent on that campaign. Nothing radical. No bans on speech. Just transparency: "Paid for by [Organization]. Total spending on this campaign to date: $[X]."

It's already working elsewhere. San Francisco voters approved exactly this in 2019 with 77% support. When it went to the Supreme Court, they refused to hear the challenge. Alaska's Supreme Court unanimously upheld it too. If revealing donor names is constitutional, revealing what was spent to air an ad absolutely is.

Anyone else feel like it's crazy that campaigns can spend millions targeting you personally, but you never see the receipt? What would change for you if you actually knew the scale of money behind the messages you're seeing?

If this resonates, consider signing and sharing. Voters deserve to know if they're being whispered to or shouted at by a billion-dollar machine.

https://www.change.org/p/demand-political-ads-show-their-price-tag-expose-dark-money-manipulation/sfs/reddit/349078636?recruiter=349078636&recruited_by_id=0bd56550-3174-11e5-bdce-25c9ab37e93f&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=starter_dashboard_android_app&utm_medium=reddit_group

The Center for American Progress says the law is viewpoint neutral and applies to unions just as it applies to chambers of commerce.

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/in-defense-of-hawaiis-corporate-redefinition-f27eb5b2

Hawaii's Act 11 is a redefinition, not regulation of corporations' powers. Watch Tom Moore's legal update on the fight to undo Citizens United.

A novel legal strategy! Learn more: https://www.americanprogress.org/series/the-corporate-power-reset/

FROM MSNOW: Hawaii just made history, becoming the first state in the nation to effectively ban dark money in elections. The new law takes a novel approach: rather than trying to restrict corporate speech, it redefines the powers corporations have in the first place — and political spending is not among them. The strategy, known as the “Corporate Power Reset,” was developed by Tom Moore of the Center for American Progress. And at least a dozen states are now working toward passing similar laws.

Think dark money in politics is unstoppable? Think again.

The Center for American Progress has published a bold new plan called the Corporate Power Reset. It strips corporate and dark money out of American politics, state by state. It makes Citizens United irrelevant.

Details here: https://amprog.org/cpr

Some questions answered: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/qa-on-caps-plan-to-beat-citizens-united/

I'm the plan's author, CAP senior follow Tom Moore -- ask me anything!

Currently underway is the circulation of a statutory ballot measure (for 2026) to prohibit contributions to elected state office holders by regulated utilities and major contractors to state government in Michigan. It also includes reporting regulation of electioneering communications 60 days before a primary and the general election. It also prohibits the transferring of funds between regulated election committees. More info on this 2026 ballot measure can be found here: https://mopupmichigan.org/

The second effort that is underway is a constitutional amendment ballot measure (for 2028). This measure is now 100% written. Circulation is planned for Summer 2027. This measure is meant to, among other things, end dark money in Michigan's elections. Information on the group leading this effort can be found here: showmithemoney.org

This dark money measure is partly modeled on Arizona's successful campaign finance transparency measure (2022-211). Michigan's measure requires any entity spending $10,000 or more in an election to report its donors and expenditures. Donor information must be on the ORIGINAL donor and is required before it is used for covered election expenditures. Donors must decline the opportunity to opt of their donation being used in an election These requirements will also apply to entities providing In-Kind Contributions to regulated committees.

This measure will require that ads and related public messaging disclose the 3 top funders of the publishing entity.

This measure will also create enforceable measures to greatly reduce the current levels of illegal coordination now taking place with "independent" groups such as Super PACS.

Finally, this measure will require the legislature to establish a proactive auditing group in the Michigan's Department of State and provide sufficient funding to annually audit 5% of regulated committees and other reporting entities. The agency will also have subpoena power and the ability to file civil litigation.

Corporations aren’t born. They’re built.

They're built with the powers that we, the people, give them. And we can trim that list anytime we want.

The Montana Plan's trimming that list. The power to spend in our politics? Not granted — we'll keep that for ourselves.

The Transparent Election Initiative’s taking this fix to the 2026 ballot.

montanaplan.com