Voters approve three ballot initiatives

Three ballot initiatives in Montana have passed, according to the Associated Press, which called the races just after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday with about 70% of ballots counted.

Constitutional Initiative 132, which amends the state Constitution to require that judicial elections remain nonpartisan, led by about 140,000 votes at the time of the call. Constitutional Initiative 133, a ballot initiative about ballot initiatives and referendums, led by about 115,000 votes. Initiative 194, dubbed The Montana Plan, which changes state code to prohibit any incorporated entity in Montana from spending money to influence state elections, also led by about 115,000 votes. 

Two of the three initiatives’ main backers celebrated the win Tuesday night.

“Montana citizens just took the historic step of enshrining their right to nonpartisan judicial elections into our Constitution,” Caitie Butler, spokesperson for Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts, wrote a Tuesday night statement. 

“I’m just very proud of the state of Montana and thankful for all of our volunteers and the folks just getting out and getting the work done on behalf of their friends and neighbors,” Jeff Mangan, who organized I-194, told Montana Free Press by phone Tuesday night. 

Montanans Decide, which backed CI-133, could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday night. 

Initiative 194, dubbed The Montana Plan, changes state code to prohibit any incorporated entity in Montana from spending money to influence state elections. The prohibition applies to any group with a charter filed with the state, including nonprofits, unions and for-profit companies. The law will take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

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. Opponents say the initiative would prevent local businesses from participating in the political process.

Among the organizations that made a case against I-194 is People United for Privacy, a nonprofit that’s advocating nationwide against similar efforts in multiple states. PUFP wants the identities of donors to nonprofit organizations protected.

In op-eds that appeared in Montana newspapers in the weeks leading up to the election, PUFP has argued that forcing anonymously funded nonprofits out of election-related spending leaves wealthy individuals and political action committees with greater influence.

Mangan, the initiative’s organizer, has said the measure is designed to bypass Citizens United, the landmark 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed unlimited corporate spending in elections. 

The initiative 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. Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg traveled to Butte in May to headline an event promoting the initiative.

Constitutional Initiative 132 amends the Montana Constitution to require that judicial elections remain nonpartisan. Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts, the group behind CI-132, says that 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 campaign 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 unsuccessful bills that would have changed judicial races into partisan contests. Those bills were introduced after state courts had struck down several earlier GOP laws related to voting and transgender rights.

The question of partisanship in judicial elections was a factor in this year’s Montana Supreme Court race. While Amy Eddy has presented herself as a nonpartisan candidate, Dan Wilson has been embraced by the Montana Republican Party, accepted donations from the state party and county GOP committees and spoken at its events. 

Eddy won the race Tuesday night. 

Montana has held nonpartisan judicial elections for decades, but the requirement exists in state law, which lawmakers can change without voter approval. Because voters approved CI-132, it will become considerably more difficult for lawmakers to make judicial elections partisan in the future. 

Constitutional Initiative 133, a ballot initiative about ballot initiatives and referendums, requires 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 complicates a process that has otherwise been working.

Montanans have passed ballot initiatives in recent years to legalize adult use of recreational marijuana and affirm abortion rights in the state Constitution, among other measures.

Tom Lutey, Victoria Eavis and Zeke Lloyd contributed reporting.