Statewide Race Results

Credit: Montana final 2020 vote counts by Eric Dietrich

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Election News

Lawsuit targets 2023 double-voting bill

MontPIRG and the Montana public employees’ union filed a lawsuit earlier this month challenging House Bill 892, which they claim will “chill political expression” by making voter registration “riskier” for people.

Shared State Podcast

Shared State: The politics of death and dying

In 2009, Montana was caught up in a heated national debate over whether terminally ill patients could expedite their deaths by taking lethal, physician-prescribed medication. More than a decade later, the state is still mired in disagreement about medical aid in dying, in part because courts and elected lawmakers have sidestepped the political hot-potato. Meanwhile, individual Montanans are confronting profound and personal questions about death in their own ways — including whether “good” deaths are even possible. 

In 2009, Montana was caught up in a heated national debate over whether terminally ill patients could expedite their deaths by taking lethal, physician-prescribed medication. More than a decade later, the state is still mired in disagreement about medical aid in dying, in part because courts and elected lawmakers have sidestepped the political hot-potato. Meanwhile,…

Shared State: Colstrip’s next chapter

There’s not much certainty for the coal industry these days. In Montana, four of the six owners of the Colstrip Power Plant live in states where legislation is requiring companies to wean themselves off of coal energy. Residents of Colstrip — a town that has grown and prospered because of that resource —  fear that any bad news for the industry will be even worse for them. Up against shifting markets and corporate interests, how can advocates for Colstrip ensure future stability for its residents?

Shared State: Bozeman is in a housing death spiral. Can local politics fix anything?

For decades, housing affordability has been a hot-button issue in Bozeman politics, a clear community pain point where the city’s elected leaders haven’t managed to deliver significant relief. As insider and outsider candidates campaigned for city offices in 2021, housing policy became the election’s key issue. The solution, some residents argued, was to elect working class advocates to positions of power. Key to getting the job done, others countered, is experienced, incumbent leadership. 

Shared State: Popularity’s slippery slope

Whitefish has a reputation as a charming ski destination in Montana’s northwest corner that welcomes wayward strays, whether that’s for a season or a lifetime. That attitude has helped grow small businesses and local watering holes, and keep friendly faces on the slopes and behind the bar. But in recent years, more and more people have been drawn to the good thing Whitefish has going on. Locals fear that surging popularity — and skyrocketing cost of living — could push out the very characters that make this place so special.

More Shared State


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MORE ELECTIONS COVERAGE

How will Montana police the integrity of its future elections?

The past three months have featured one legislative debate after another over proposed changes to how counties conduct elections and verify their results. But last week the conversation took an inevitable turn into the realm of enforcement — in other words, how Montana will police the integrity of its elections moving forward.


MORE ELECTIONS HEADLINES

The state of election integrity in the Montana Legislature

After returning from this month’s transmittal break, the Joint Select Committee on Election Security had just one lingering item left on its docket: finalizing a proposal addressing enforcement of state election laws.

Where the Legislature stands on election changes

As of the Legislature’s transmittal break, a host of proposed changes to election administration law have advanced. Some aim to tweak the existing system, while others target deeper change.

Where Montana’s special election committee stands

The Joint Select Committee on Election Security has spent months exploring the nuances of Montana’s election system. That work has crystallized in three proposals targeting absentee voter list maintenance and voting machine procedures, all of which won bipartisan support in the Senate.

Looking back on six years as COPP

Over the past two decades, the commissioner of political practices has become one of Montana’s highest profile and most controversial posts. After six years as COPP, Jeff Mangan reflects on the challenges raised by social media, election skepticism and political neutrality.

Secretary of State appeals rulings that struck down new election laws

Montana’s top election official, Christi Jacobsen, challenges a lower court decision that declared laws ending election-day registration, upped voter ID requirements and banned paid ballot collection unconstitutional. The case now goes before the Montana Supreme Court.

Election skepticism and the search for a smoking gun

From “cast vote records” to nonprofit election grant documents, the recent spate of open records requests at county election offices in Montana mirrors a nationwide surge propelled in part by prominent pro-Trump critics of the 2020 election.

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