Constitutional Amendment Would Protect Ballot Initiatives
A group aiming to protect ballot initiatives in Montana has filed a Constitutional amendment to ensure Montanans can petition to enact laws in the state without interference.
“This initiative protects the right of Montana voters to propose and vote on laws that matter to them,” said SK Rossi, spokesperson for Montanans Decide, in a statement. “Too often, politicians forget who they work for and they push agendas that serve their own interests rather than listening to what voters want.
“Montanans know what is best for Montana, and this measure protects our right to propose and vote on laws that put our interests first.”
The Montana Constitution protects the right of the people to enact laws by ballot initiative.
However, Montanans Decide said the process to place measures on the ballot is under fire, and it must be protected in the state Constitution.
The proposed language states the process to submit ballot initiatives must be impartial, predictable, transparent and expeditious, and the government should not support or oppose a ballot measure.
The proposed ballot language is this: “The Montana constitution reserves to the people the powers of initiative and referendum. CI-*** amends the constitution to protect this fundamental right from unjustified interference by the government. Specifically, CI-*** requires impartial, predictable, open, and timely processes for ballot issues, including approving petitions and ballot statements, resolving legal challenges, and verifying signatures. It requires the state to allow ample time for signature gathering, and prohibits disqualification of petitions because of minor or technical issues and allows voters to withdraw their signatures if they choose.”
In an email Monday, Oct. 6, Rossi said the citizen initiative process in Montana used to be “much more straightforward.”
“Over the years, the legislature has made it much more difficult and complicated for Montana voters to exercise our right to propose and vote on laws that affect our lives,” Rossi said.
In the last couple of sessions, for example, Rossi said the legislature added “exorbitant fees” and administrative hurdles for signature gatherers. “Montanans have a right to propose and vote on laws that affect our lives, but the process is under attack,” Rossi said in the news release. “This measure protects that right and keeps government accountable to us.”
In 2024, a district court judge found a $3,700 filing fee to propose an initiative to be unconstitutional in a lawsuit over ballot measure restrictions including ones in Senate Bill 93 from 2023.
Lewis and Clark District Court Judge Mike Menahan also struck down a requirement for review by a legislative committee as unconstitutional, although he upheld some other changes the plaintiffs had challenged from the 2021 and 2023 sessions.
For example, Menahan said the agency reviews the plaintiffs challenged might not be necessary to the process, but that didn’t make them automatically unconstitutional.
The judge said he was sympathetic to the short timelines the plaintiffs faced, but the legislature is allowed to set terms for how the power of initiative is exercised, and agency reviews should be considered individually.
In a news release, Montanans Decide said attempts to infringe on the citizens’ initiative process contin
