Paid out-of-state signature gatherers in Montana

Montana swarmed with paid signature gatherers from out of state in June 2006. These mercenaries were brought in by Greyhound bus to CI-97 and two other bad initiatives. on the Montana ballot.

These people were sighted in every major Montana town and several smaller ones. They said they're from Michigan, Arizona, Texas, Washington, South Dakota, and other states.

They said they were being paid $1 to $1.50 per signature.

Montanans In Action, the front group for CI-97, has reported spending $274,000 on paid signature gatherers. Montanans In Action refuses to say where their funding came from.

But the national group Americans For Limited Government claims credit for helping CI-97 qualify for Montana's ballot. ALG has also spent millions in other states to get measures like CI-97 on the state ballot.

It's not hard to connect the dots.

Dirty tricks
The mercenary signature gatherers carried petitions for three different ballot initiatives: 1) CI-97, 2) an "eminent domain" petition (I-154), and 3) a petition to recall judges for any or no reason (CI-98).

The signature gatherers couldn't tell you what any of the initiatives would do, because they didn't know and didn't care. They were in it strictly for the money.

In four separate reported cases (Butte, Helena, Basin, Missoula), the signature gatherers told Montanans they must sign all three petitions in order to get eminent domain on the ballot. Thus, they tricked people into signing CI-97.

Who is paying them? National groups that are working to get CI-97 type initiatives on state ballots. In Oklahoma alone, these groups (Americans for Limited Government, Americans for Tax Reform, and others) spent $1 million to get SOS on the ballot. They contract firms that hire the signature gatherers.

See the list of signature gatherers. (PDF) Many of the out-of-state signature gatherers listed had several people working under them.

One of many stories (We heard stories like this from all across Montana)
From Jerry Butcher, Great Falls: "I was approached by a man in front of the downtown post office gathering signatures for the CI-97 SOS petition and other petitions.

"I asked the man where he was from and if he was being paid to gather signatures. He told me he was from Wisconsin and was being paid by a National Voters Organization.

"I asked him to explain CI-97 to me and he said he didn't know anything about it. I am very concerned that paid out of state individuals are asking Montanans to sign something that they know nothing about and care little about the mess they will leave behind.

"This idea of choking state spending was so harmful to Colorado that voters there suspended it. Please don't give your signature to out-of- state persons and interests for these petitions."