Two groups backing major citizen-led ballot initiatives filed a lawsuit against Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen on Wednesday, alleging the office unlawfully disqualified droves of signatures the groups collected over the last few months.
Montanans for Election Reform, the coalition backing two measures that would modify election practices in the state, and Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights (MSRR), supporting a constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to pre-viability abortion, say the secretary of state improperly directed election officers to void the signatures of inactive voters.
The plaintiffs also allege that a July 2 announcement from Jacobsen that the statewide election software had been modified to automatically exclude signatures of inactive voters was an illegal tactic to prevent thousands of signatories from having their voices heard.
People are also reading…
MSRR and Montanans for Election Reform (MER) are requesting a preliminary injunction that would require the secretary of state to reinstate the ability for county elections officers to verify signatures of inactive voters as the case plays out. Plaintiffs are also asking the court to ensure Jacobsen “immediately take all actions necessary to ensure that any signatures previously rejected solely because the elector appeared on the list of inactive voters be counted as valid.”
There is an element of timeliness to this case: County elections staff have until July 19 to verify all signatures of all ballot initiatives before submitting them to the secretary of state.
At the center of the legal dispute is a differing definition of a “qualified elector” under Montana law.
Jacobsen’s office claims that an inactive voter, those who may have an out-of-date address with their county clerk’s office or who have not voted in two federal general election years, is not a qualified elector. Therefore, they are prohibited from signing onto a ballot initiative, according to the secretary.
Montana Code defines a qualified elector as “any citizen of the United States 18 years of age or older who meets the registration and residence requirements provided by law,” unless the individual is serving a sentence for a felony in a penal institution or found to be of “unsound mind, as determined by a court.”
Plaintiffs assert that this definition includes inactive voters.
“Voters on the ‘inactive’ list are registered voters, are entitled to vote, and are plainly ‘qualified electors’ under state law,” the complaint read.
The secretary of state’s office disagrees, saying Montana law states otherwise.
“Unsurprisingly, the media learns of these lawsuits before we do. We haven’t received a lawsuit or complaint, but the Secretary of State’s Office continues to follow the laws and Constitution, as discussed yesterday,” according to a response from a secretary of state’s office email communications account, which did not include the author’s name. The office did not respond to follow-up questions about who was responding to the Montana State News Bureau’s inquiries.
In a July 9 letter to the groups’ attorney, Austin James, chief legal counsel for the secretary of state, wrote “Inactive electors are not eligible to vote. Inactive electors are not eligible to receive a mail ballot or absentee ballot, nor are they eligible to vote at the polling place in inactive status.”
It’s common to become inactive: Not casting a ballot in a federal general election or having an out-of-date address on file are among the reasons someone can be deemed inactive. They are unable to receive ballots by mail, and must show up in person to a polling place in order to cast their ballot.
Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen shakes a supporter’s hand during the Montana Republican Party delegate convention in Helena on May 18.
Gallatin County Elections Administrator Eric Semerad previously confirmed to the Montana State News Bureau that there is now no way in the online software to review the signatures of inactive voters following the changes the secretary of state’s office made.
“If they’re an inactive voter they’ll automatically not qualify … It’s just built into the system now,” Semerad said.
Both ballot measures would codify amendments to the Montana State Constitution.
MSRR is a coalition of reproductive rights groups championing an initiative to enshrine an explicit constitutional guarantee to abortion before fetal viability.
Montanans for Election Reform are behind two separate but related initiatives.
The first initiative, CI-126, would implement what are called open primaries. The second, C1-127, would require a candidate to receive over 50% of the vote to win. Open primaries allow all qualified candidates to be on the same ballot regardless of political party with the top four from each office moving onto the general election.
In order to get a constitutional initiative in front of voters in November, groups had to gather just over 60,000 signatures from at least 40 legislative districts. Those signatures are then verified by county election clerks and the secretary of state.
Both groups say they blew past that threshold.
MSRR celebrated collecting 117,000 signatures, almost double the amount needed to put CI-128 on the ballot. Meanwhile, MER say they gathered over 200,000 signatures between their two initiatives.
Your Trusted Source for Accurate and Timely Updates!
