Montana Free Press: Native voters win ruling blocking new election laws

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Yellowstone County Courthouse in Montana

A trial over Native voting rights took place in the Yellowstone County Courthouse in Billings, Montana, over nine days in August 2022. Photo: Sara goth

Judge: New voter laws “unconstitutional” and permanently enjoined

The laws would have ended Election Day voter registration, changed voter ID requirements, and banned paid ballot collection. They are now permanently blocked from going into effect.

Monday, October 3, 2022

By Alex Sakariassen

Montana Free Press

montanafreepress.org

A district court judge in Billings Friday permanently struck down three election administration laws in Montana, declaring that eliminating Election Day voter registration, implementing new voter identification requirements and barring paid ballot collection are unconstitutional.

The order, issued by Yellowstone District Court Judge Michael Moses, closes the book on the court’s deliberations in a consolidated lawsuit that started shortly after Republicans in the Montana Legislature passed the laws in spring 2021. The lawsuit was filed against Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen by the Montana Democratic Party, Western Native Voice, Montana Youth Action and a coalition of tribal and youth advocacy groups. Moses presided over a nine-day trial last month, during which he acknowledged the time-sensitive nature of the case given Montana’s upcoming election and assured both sides he would reach a decision as quickly as possible.

In his ruling, Moses noted that the law ending Election Day voter registration — House Bill 176 — “severely burdens the right to vote of Montana voters, particularly Native American voters, students, the elderly, and voters with disabilities.” He reached a similar conclusion regarding House Bill 530’s prohibition on paid ballot collection. As for Senate Bill 169, which required student IDs to be accompanied by a second form of identification at the polls, Moses wrote that the law “violates the Equal Protection Clause by imposing heightened and unequal burdens on Montana’s youngest voters.”

All three laws had already been subject to a preliminary injunction issued by Moses this spring and upheld by the Montana Supreme Court this month. Moses’ order vacates that temporary injunction, replacing it with a permanent ban on enforcement of the laws ahead of the November 8 general election. A fourth law challenged in the lawsuit, which barred counties from sending mail ballots to minors who would turn 18 by Election Day, was already declared unconstitutional by Moses this summer.

Moses’ ruling was announced just before 5 p.m. on Friday. Montana Free Press will follow up with more detail.

Alex Sakariassen is a 2008 graduate of the University of Montana’s School of Journalism, where he worked for four years at the Montana Kaimin student newspaper and cut his journalistic teeth as a paid news intern for the Choteau Acantha for two summers. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree in journalism and history, Sakariassen spent nearly 10 years covering environmental issues and state and federal politics for the alternative newsweekly Missoula Independent. He transitioned into freelance journalism following the Indy’s abrupt shuttering in September 2018, writing in-depth features, breaking news stories and columns for a variety of publications including the Pacific Northwest Inlander, Mountain Outlaw Magazine, Kaiser Health News and the Montana Free Press. Sakariassen took a full time position as Montana Free Press’ education reporter in January 2021, covering K-12 and higher education as well as state policy developments impacting voting rights and health care.

Note: This story originally appeared on Montana Free Press. It is published under a Creative Commons license.