In a Win For Democracy and Abortion Groups, Montana Will Count Inactive Voters’ Signatures for Ballot Measures
Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen (R) will still be required to count “inactive” voters’ signatures for crucial abortion and democracy reform ballot initiatives after a state court ruling this morning.
The ruling grants relief to pro-democracy and reproductive justice organizations who asked the court to ensure the state properly counted voters’ signatures after Jacobsen previously instructed counties to reject signatures from “inactive” voters.
Jacobsen was already blocked from excluding “inactive voters” thanks to a previous ruling issued last week. “Voters who are considered ‘inactive voters’ nonetheless remain ‘qualified electors’ for the purpose of counting signatures on ballot initiative petition[s],” the court concluded. This decision is a victory for groups fighting to enshrine democracy reforms and abortion rights into the state’s constitution.
Previous update, July 24
The Montana Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to ballot initiatives seeking to codify abortion rights and democracy reforms in the state constitution this fall. Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen (R) will still be required to count “inactive” voters’ signatures after the state high court’s ruling.
Just last week, a Montana judge ruled in favor of pro-democracy organizations and voters who are fighting to have abortion and democracy reforms added to the state constitution. Groups filed a lawsuit to support the ballot initiatives, arguing that Jacobsen was attempting to disenfranchise thousands of Montana voters from the constitutional initiative process by rejecting “inactive” voters’ signatures.
Both the secretary of state and pro-democracy groups asked the Montana Supreme Court to hear the case for a speedy resolution, but the state high court declined to do so. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled in the trial court for Friday, July 26. The trial court’s temporary order blocking Jacobsen from disqualifying petition signatures from “inactive voters” remains in place.
Previous update, July 17
A Montana judge ruled in favor of organizations and voters seeking to enshrine abortion rights and democracy reforms into the state constitution this November — blocking a directive from Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen (R) to disqualify petition signatures from thousands of so-called “inactive” voters.
According to local reporting from the Daily Montanan, Judge Mike Menahan verbally granted the groups’ request for a temporary restraining order against Jacobsen after holding a hearing yesterday.
In Montana, “inactive” voters appear on a list of individuals who are lawfully registered, but whose addresses may have changed based on mail records. With yesterday’s ruling, Jacobsen is required to restore any petition signatures of “inactive” voters that were unlawfully disqualified and must include these voters’ signatures in the verification process going forward.
The decision comes as part of a lawsuit filed last week in which a coalition of pro-abortion and pro-democracy groups behind a trio of ballot initiatives accused Jacobsen of attempting to disenfranchise thousands of Montana voters from the constitutional initiative process.
The initiatives at issue aim to enshrine the state constitutional right to abortion, implement top-four open primaries for certain races and require elections for certain offices to be decided by a majority vote. Supporters of all three initiatives garnered well over the required number of signatures to advance the proposals forward by the state’s June 21 submission deadline.
The secretary of state previously instructed county election administrators to accept valid petition signatures from individuals on the state’s “inactive” voter list. However, as the suit alleged, Jacobsen “abruptly” and “inexplicably” changed course in late June and directed county election administrators to reject signatures from voters listed as “inactive” — a move that the plaintiffs say violated the state constitution and Montana law.
The plaintiffs averred that aside from prompting the rejection of thousands of signatures without notice, the secretary’s “about-face” jeopardized the qualification of the proposed initiatives for the November ballot.
Additionally, the lawsuit claimed Jacobsen unilaterally reprogrammed the state’s software system that processes petitions to automatically reject signatures from “inactive” voters.
Menahan underscored at yesterday’s hearing that the case centers on Montanans’ fundamental right to partake in the initiative petition process guaranteed by the state constitution. “When you’re talking about the rights of people to participate in government, that’s a fundamental right that I think, as a judge, my duty is to uphold that right and give life to it and preserve it,” Menahan said per the Associated Press.
In a statement reacting to the ruling, Christopher Coburn, president of Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights, said his organization is “pleased that the District Court affirmed that registered voters in Montana have the right to sign a citizen initiative petition and have their signature count…the District Court correctly rejected politically motivated, last-minute, and secretive rule changes by the Secretary of State.”
Following the ruling, the court will issue a written order memorializing the terms of the temporary restraining order. Menahan will hold a subsequent hearing on July 26 to determine whether to permanently prevent the secretary of state from disqualifying “inactive” voter signatures in the future.
Original post, July 11
Organizers seeking to enshrine abortion rights in Montana’s constitution are suing the secretary of state over a directive instructing county officials to reject the signatures of individuals listed on the state’s “inactive” voter database.
Montana Securing Reproductive Rights collected enough signatures in June to advance a proposed ballot initiative that would amend Montana’s constitution to include the right to an abortion. Two other petitions would amend Montana’s rules for how elections are run. Montana petitions need a certain number of signatures to appear on the November ballot.
Typically, the secretary of state directs county election administrators to accept the signatures of voters who appear on the “inactive” voter list, which is a list of voters who are registered but whose addresses may have changed based on mail records, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday.
But in June, the Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen (R) “abruptly” changed course, the complaint said, and is now directing election administrators to reject signatures from voters listed as “inactive.” The suit also accuses Jacobsen of unilaterally reprogramming the state’s software program that processes petitions to reject certain signatures automatically.
The abortion-rights coalition, along with pro-voting group Montanans for Election Reform Action Fund and Dr. Samuel Dickman of Planned Parenthood of Montana, says the guidance denies voters’ constitutional right to propose a constitutional amendment, “as well as their fundamental rights of popular sovereignty and self-government.”
Jacobsen posted an apparent response on X, writing: “This isn’t difficult. Montana law is clear and we will continue to uphold the laws put in place by the Legislature.”