The United States Supreme Court Monday rejected Montana’s challenge to Citizen’s United, the decision that removed limits on corporate spending in political campaigns. Montana argued its state laws gave it the right to limit political spending. Idaho was one of several states that filed friend of the court briefs to support its neighbor’s position. Bob Cooper with the Idaho Attorney General’s office says the AG was not speaking against Citizen’s United, simply supporting states’ rights.
“The issue here was whether a state could determine its own policy in governing elections within that state," Cooper says. "As a matter of sovereignty and a matter of attempting to defend the state of Idaho’s ability to set its own rules for elections, The Attorney General joined as an amicus in support of Montana’s position.”
Cooper says with the High Court’s decision there is nothing more Idaho can do. State officials in Montana however, are joining in an already existing movement to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would cancel out Citizen’s United.