In addition to casting votes for three-quarters of the state’s congressional delegation, an open state Supreme Court seat, two Public Service Commissioners and legislative candidates, Montanans will also weigh in on three ballot measures in the upcoming election.
Those measures, which have already satisfied multiple requirements to appear on the ballot, allow voters to directly amend the state Constitution or statutory code.
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The deadline for ballot measure groups to gather and submit tens of thousands of signatures passed on Friday, June 19, and multiple organizations said they have submitted enough signatures to qualify for the general election ballot. If enough of those signatures are ultimately approved by county and state officials, voters in November will have a…
This year, Montana voters will determine via initiative the future of nonpartisan state courts, corporate spending in politics and the ballot measure process itself.
PARTISANSHIP IN JUDICIAL ELECTIONS (CI-132)
Constitution Initiative 132 amends the Montana Constitution to require that judicial elections remain nonpartisan.
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The first proposal would amend the state Constitution to require that judicial elections remain nonpartisan. The second proposal goes a step further by requiring any new court created by the Legislature to also be nonpartisan.
Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts, the group behind CI-132, says that, if approved, the initiative will “keep judges accountable to the people’s interests, not deep-pocketed political interests.”
“Judges should be elected based on their record and qualifications, not politics,” according to the group’s website.
The Montana Republican Party has been vocal in its objection to CI-132, and passed a resolution earlier this year opposing it. The resolution argues that “the Montana Supreme Court has long acted as a partisan Democrat bench” and alleges that allowing candidates to run with an overt political party affiliation will keep judicial elections “free, fair, and honest.”
The ballot initiative emerged after the 2025 legislative session, when Republicans brought several bills, all of which failed, that would have changed judicial races to partisan contests. Those bills were introduced after state courts had struck down several earlier GOP laws related to voting and transgender rights.
If voters approve CI-132, it will become considerably more difficult for lawmakers to make judicial elections partisan in the future.
A BALLOT INITIATIVE ABOUT BALLOT INITIATIVES (CI-133)
Constitutional Initiative 133 is a ballot initiative about ballot initiatives and referendums.
It would require that initiative language be assessed for legality by the state within 90 days of its initial submission, and that “reasonably ample time” be allowed for the signature gathering necessary to place an initiative on the ballot. It also requires that legal challenges to initiatives must be resolved before the secretary of state’s deadline for finalizing ballots, which is 75 days before the general election.
Montanans Decide, the group supporting the initiative, argues that ballot measures “protect the voice of the people,” and organizers have described CI-133 as a response to “attacks” on the referendum process.
Opponents argue that the initiative removes needed protections and complicates a process that has otherwise been working.
Montanans have passed ballot measures in recent years to legalize adult use of recreational marijuana and affirm abortion rights in the state Constitution, among other things.
CORPORATE MONEY IN POLITICS (I-194)
Initiative 194 seeks to remove so-called dark money and corporate spending from state elections by prohibiting spending by “artificial persons,” including nonprofits, for-profit organizations and trusts, among other entities.
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A coalition of former public officeholders is pushing to end corporate money in Montana politics via a proposed constitutional initiative they want to put on the ballot for voters to weigh in on in 2026.
The initiative, dubbed The Montana Plan, would prohibit any incorporated entity operating in Montana from spending money to influence local, state or federal elections. The prohibition would apply to any group with a charter filed with the state, including nonprofits, unions and for-profit companies.
The initiative would change state code, not the Constitution, making it potentially easier for lawmakers to later overturn. Supporters say the initiative offers a much-needed check on corporate spending and dark money, which “has flooded our political system, drowning out the voices of everyday Americans,” according to the initiative’s website.
Initiative organizer and former Montana Commissioner of Political Practice Jeff Mangan has said the initiative is designed to bypass Citizens United, a landmark 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed unlimited corporate spending in elections.
Opponents say the initiative would prevent local businesses from participating in the political process.
“Under this initiative, family-owned businesses including farms, ranches, restaurants, and retail stores could not respond publicly to a ballot initiative targeting them. A Main Street restaurant could not support a local levy to improve public safety,” the Montana, Kalispell and Billings chambers of commerce wrote in an op-ed.
The initiative has garnered endorsements from a bipartisan group of state and national leaders, including former Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, former Republican Gov. Marc Racicot, former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock and former independent candidate for Congress Gary Buchanan. Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. transportation secretary, traveled to Butte in May to headline an event promoting the initiative.
Victoria Eavis, Tom Lutey and Phoebe Tollefson contributed reporting.
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