The Montana Supreme Court Tuesday rejected Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen’s request that it intervene in a recent lawsuit stemming from her office’s handling of the 2024 ballot issue petition process.
Jacobsen’s request to the court last week came days after her attorneys helped negotiate the terms of a restraining order in Lewis and Clark County District Court barring her office from rejecting ballot petition signatures from inactive voters. The restraining order was sought by the backers of three constitutional initiatives seeking certification for the fall ballot who alleged Jacobsen’s reversal this month of Montana’s longstanding practice of accepting inactive voter signatures on ballot petitions threatened to disenfranchise thousands of registered voters.
The change came roughly a week after county election officials began the four-week process of verifying signatures on the three petitions when Jacobsen’s office updated the state’s ElectMT system July 2. Local officials had until July 19 to complete the verifications, though the district court restraining order extended the deadline for verifying inactive voter signatures to July 24.
In arguments to both the district court and the Supreme Court, Jacobsen’s attorneys advanced a new legal interpretation that voters identified as “inactive” are not qualified electors as defined in the state Constitution, and therefore are not eligible to sign ballot petitions. Inactive voters include those who have not voted in two federal elections or who have not responded to direct mailings from county election administrators.
In an order signed by all seven justices Tuesday, the Supreme Court declined to exercise supervisory control in the case, writing that Jacobsen had not persuaded them that the district court erred in its reading of the law. While the order acknowledged Jacobsen’s early opposition to a restraining order, the justices noted that her attorneys ultimately participated in crafting the language and declined to “disturb a remedy that arose from a conference between the litigants.”
“We further disagree with Jacobsen that the [restraining order] is causing a gross injustice,” the order reads, “as Jacobsen’s actions in reprogramming the petition-processing software after county election administrators had commenced processing petitions created the circumstances that gave rise to this litigation.”
The mounting legal situation surrounding this year’s ballot petitions came as county election officials around Montana were busy vetting signatures submitted by the sponsors of three distinct proposals that could appear on the November ballot: CI-126 and CI-127, which would move Montana toward an open primary system where the top four vote-earners advance to the general election, and CI-128, which would enshrine abortion rights in the Montana Constitution. The new county deadline for processing inactive voter signatures on those petitions is 12 p.m. July 24.
Prior to Tuesday’s order, the committees that initially filed the lawsuit — Montanans for Election Reform and Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights — filed a response of their own agreeing with Jacobsen’s request for Supreme Court involvement. The groups maintained that the district court’s restraining order was proper but noted that they’d been unaware of a separate lawsuit filed against Jacobsen in Lake County this month regarding the same issue. That lawsuit, brought by a group of Republican plaintiffs including House Speaker Matt Regier, demanded that Jacobsen be prohibited from certifying CI-126 and CI-127 partly due to her office’s alleged failure to ensure all inactive voter signatures had been rejected. The case briefly resulted in a separate restraining order that was rescinded after Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan issued his order last week.
Montanans for Election Reform and Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights argued to the Supreme Court that by resolving the underlying dispute over inactive voter signatures, the justices could provide clarity and finality and “reduce duplicative litigation.”
The justices were also unswayed by the initiative groups’ arguments, writing that they “chose to litigate this matter in the district court and we will not interfere with the district court’s authority to hear this case.”
In an email response Tuesday, spokesperson Richie Melby issued the following statement on behalf of Jacobsen’s office: “It’s unfortunate that the Montana Supreme Court once again rubber-stamped inaccuracies by partisan interests as gospel, dispelling reality and Montana law. The Secretary of State’s Office remains focused on serving Montana and upholding the rule of law.”
In a press release late Tuesday afternoon, Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights once again characterized Jacobsen’s actions as part of a pattern to “delay, obstruct, mislead, and ultimately block” CI-128, which was the subject of other legal challenges earlier this year. The group said the Supreme Court’s denial of Jacobsen’s petition temporarily ends her efforts to overturn the relief granted by the district court.
“We are pleased that the Montana Supreme Court rejected the Secretary of State’s request and returned this matter to the district court,” Martha Fuller, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana and spokesperson for Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights, said in a statement accompanying the release. “We will continue to fight for Montanans’ constitutional rights in court this week before the District Court in Helena. And, we will continue to fight back against any attempt to silence Montanans and restrict our access to the ballot initiative process moving forward.”
Menahan has scheduled another hearing in the Lewis and Clark County District Court case on July 26 to discuss the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction blocking the secretary of state’s change until the litigation is resolved.
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