The coalition backing the ballot initiative that would codify abortion rights in the Montana State Constitution alleges the Secretary of State is unlawfully throwing out thousands of the signatures it collected in support of putting the measure in front of voters this November.
Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights celebrated collecting 117,000 signatures, almost double the amount needed to put CI-128 on the ballot, but less than one month later, organizers fear this latest move from the Secretary of State -- which invalidates signatures from inactive but registered voters -- could roll back some of those efforts.
The other group behind two major ballot initiatives pertaining to open primaries and majority rule, Montanans for Election Reform, also reported clearing the signature threshold for constitutional initiatives that are expected to appear on November’s ballot.
People are also reading…
![CI-128 signature kickoff event](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=150%2C100 150w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=200%2C133 200w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=225%2C150 225w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=300%2C200 300w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=400%2C267 400w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=540%2C360 540w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=640%2C427 640w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=750%2C500 750w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=990%2C660 990w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C690 1035w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C800 1200w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C888 1333w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=1476%2C984 1476w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/d2/fd28859c-6229-57f8-8224-2720035946b8/668da1f4c3745.image.jpg?resize=1763%2C1175 2008w)
Supporters of CI-128 holds a sign during a signature kickoff event hosted by Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights on April 16.
Constitutional initiative groups tend to collect more signatures than the required amount — just over 60,000 signatures from at least 40 legislative districts — to give themselves a cushion when some signatures are inevitably invalidated for legibility reasons.
MSRR issued a press release on Tuesday asserting Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, whose office is responsible for verifying election results, had illegally changed voting software to disqualify droves of signatories.
According to email correspondence MSRR says it obtained through a public records request, Jacobsen’s office issued guidance to county election administrators in late June directing them to reject signatures by qualified electors who appear on the inactive voter list.
“Last week, we discovered that the Secretary of State changed state voting software to unlawfully reject valid signatures of registered Montana voters who may not have voted in recent elections,” said Akilah Deernose, spokesperson for MSRR and executive director of the ACLU of Montana. “These registered voters are clearly qualified electors, and they deserve to have their voices heard and their signatures counted.”
Only qualified electors can sign petitions in support of getting a measure on the ballot. Under Montana state code, a qualified elector is defined as “any citizen of the United States 18 years of age or older who meets the registration and residence requirements provided by law,” unless that individual “is serving a sentence for a felony in a penal institution or is of unsound mind, as determined by a court.”
Gallatin County Elections Administrator Eric Semerad confirmed to Lee Newspapers that there is now no way in the online software to review the signatures of inactive voters following the changes the secretary of state's office made.
“If they're an inactive voter they’ll automatically not qualify ... It’s just built into the system now," Semerad said.
Registered voters can become inactive for a number of reasons, like if they do not participate in a federal general election or mail correspondence bounces back from the address on file.
![Montanans for Election Reform](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=150%2C100 150w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=200%2C133 200w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=225%2C150 225w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=300%2C200 300w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=400%2C267 400w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=540%2C360 540w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=640%2C427 640w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=750%2C500 750w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=990%2C660 990w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C690 1035w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C800 1200w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C888 1333w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=1476%2C984 1476w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/2f/32fc6eac-d05b-57fb-a048-25fc86d6cccd/666a092464e43.image.jpg?resize=1763%2C1175 2008w)
A Montanans for Election Reform event celebrating the signature gathering effort for ballot initiatives CI-126 and CI-127 at the Montana State Capitol on June 12.
MSRR believes these voters are lawfully allowed to sign petitions and be counted. Jacobsen's office believes otherwise.
The abortion rights coalition called on Jacobsen to provide clear, legal guidance to county election staff and correct what it describes as "associated unlawful guidance issued to county election administrators.” The group requested a response by 10 a.m. on Tuesday with a plan for how to rectify the alleged loss of signatures.
Austin James, chief legal counsel for the secretary of state, penned the response, obtained by the Montana State News Bureau. He says the assertion that inactive voters are eligible to vote and sign signatures is incorrect. “The obvious logic by the letter of the law is that a person becomes a qualified elector by becoming an active voter,” the letter reads.
"I think the SOS has to be seen as doing something about these initiatives,” said Rob Cook, a former Republican representative and one the leaders of Montanans for Election Reform. “Her revised guidance appears to me to be a Hail Mary, but she probably feels politically compelled to try something."
Emails obtained by MSRR between the election administrator in Glacier County and an attorney from the Secretary of State’s Office show there was some confusion about how to handle people who are registered to vote but were considered inactive due to lack of participation in recent elections.
The Glacier County election administrator says she was first told by the Secretary of State’s Office to accept signatures of an inactive voter, but later received a second response saying to reject them.
“Hope this isn’t a bombshell, and that I was the only (one) confused,” the email to election administrators across the state reads. “I just wanted to share this in case some other counties are accepting those signatures of inactive voters.”
In his written response to MSRR, James says staff was responding directly to questions from this election administrator, not providing broad and unsolicited guidance on the topic.
He did concede that there was some mixed messaging, acknowledging that a "rebranded PowerPoint from the archives" suggested counties could indeed verify inactive voters who sign petitions.
"I think we both agree that county and state election officials have a duty to ensure only qualified elector signers are certified, even if we (at least at this point) disagree as to whether an inactivated registrant is a qualified elector," James wrote in his letter.
Additional documentation obtained by MSRR shows a July 2 software update that automatically disqualified the signatures of registered but inactive voters.
This isn’t the first time the measure to explicitly protect abortion rights has been at the center of legal battles. It was ensnared in a months-long fight between MSRR and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. Ultimately, the Montana Supreme Court had to resolve the matter, paving the way for MSRR to begin the signature collection process, albeit weeks later than planned.
It’s also been a political football. Back in April, Republican legislators unanimously opposed the initiative. The vote happened without participation from minority Democrats, who chose not to attend out of protest to the meeting being held. The vote did not substantively impact signature collection, but it was a sign of party opposition.
Signature collection is just the first step to getting a measure on the ballot. MSRR submitted its signatures on June 21, the deadline, a move that James described as an “unprecedented holding of all petitions to dump in the final hours," causing challenges for election administrators, against against both state and county election official advice.
All signatures must be certified, first by county clerks and then by the Secretary of State’s Office. The deadline for verification is Aug. 22.
MSRR noted in a statement to the Montana State News Bureau that the response from James fails to address the unlawful actions from the Secretary of State, and said it would do "everything in our power," including legal action, to ensure all registered voters in Montana who signed the CI-128 petition are counted.
![Rep. Rob Cook (R-Conrad) converses with fellow representatives during a recess Tuesday morning at the State Capitol.](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=150%2C100 150w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=200%2C133 200w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=225%2C150 225w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=300%2C200 300w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=400%2C266 400w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=540%2C359 540w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=640%2C426 640w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=750%2C499 750w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=990%2C659 990w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C688 1035w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C798 1200w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C887 1333w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=1476%2C982 1476w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/a9/9a968753-340b-5af3-a77b-df48276d769b/5a0d1c97c4119.image.jpg?resize=1765%2C1174 2008w)
Rep. Rob Cook (R-Conrad) converses with fellow representatives during a recess at the State Capitol.
“Unnecessary litigation will brew confusion in the process and slow down the processing of petitions during the final days of statutory period given to counties to certify petitions to the state,” James cautioned in his letter to MSRR. “I heed warning that litigation on this topic is premised on incorrect facts, wrong on the law and will likely frustrate the pace of processing your clients petitions(...).”
Montanans for Election Reform said it collected 200,000 signatures between its two initiatives, blowing past the required number of signatures, but the understanding among the group is that if inactive voters were disqualified, the initiatives would not cross the signature threshold.
"Montana citizens take their right to vote and their right to sign a petition seriously, and this decision by the Secretary of State undermines those rights," said Frank Garner, a former Republican representative. "The thousands of signatures that the SOS wants to deem invalid represent the will of individual registered Montana voters, citizens whose rights are being taken away.”
The first initiative, CI-126, would implement what are called open primaries and the second, C1-127, would require a candidate to receive over 50% of the vote to win.
The open primaries would place all qualified candidates on the same ballot regardless of party and the top four from each office would move onto the general election. CI-126 also stipulates that candidates do not have to list their political party affiliation on the ballot, but may if they choose to.
Right now, Montana has what is sometimes referred to as a "closed primary," where voters have to choose which party's primary to vote in — meaning they can not vote for a Democrat in one race and a Republican in another — when they go to the polls or cast a ballot by mail.
The Montana GOP is adamantly against both initiatives. The state party has formed a task force to push back against the effort and has continually spoken out against the initiatives and those behind it.
County clerks have until July 19 to finish verifying signatures before they pass them off to the secretary of state. It is unclear how county clerks across the state will proceed in the meantime.
"If registered inactive voters cannot be counted as qualified electors, then the initiative process enshrined in the Montana Constitution is dead,” Cook said. “Going forward, it will simply exist as a placebo for the masses."
![Montana State News Bureau](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/8f/b8f4aaf6-5ca3-59a6-b90b-dc1ad9555eff/6647e58c03169.image.jpg?crop=1174%2C1067%2C377%2C0&resize=150%2C136&order=crop%2Cresize 150w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/8f/b8f4aaf6-5ca3-59a6-b90b-dc1ad9555eff/6647e58c03169.image.jpg?crop=1174%2C1067%2C377%2C0&resize=200%2C182&order=crop%2Cresize 200w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/8f/b8f4aaf6-5ca3-59a6-b90b-dc1ad9555eff/6647e58c03169.image.jpg?crop=1174%2C1067%2C377%2C0&resize=225%2C204&order=crop%2Cresize 225w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/8f/b8f4aaf6-5ca3-59a6-b90b-dc1ad9555eff/6647e58c03169.image.jpg?crop=1174%2C1067%2C377%2C0&resize=300%2C273&order=crop%2Cresize 300w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/8f/b8f4aaf6-5ca3-59a6-b90b-dc1ad9555eff/6647e58c03169.image.jpg?crop=1174%2C1067%2C377%2C0&resize=400%2C364&order=crop%2Cresize 400w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/8f/b8f4aaf6-5ca3-59a6-b90b-dc1ad9555eff/6647e58c03169.image.jpg?crop=1174%2C1067%2C377%2C0&resize=540%2C491&order=crop%2Cresize 540w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/8f/b8f4aaf6-5ca3-59a6-b90b-dc1ad9555eff/6647e58c03169.image.jpg?crop=1174%2C1067%2C377%2C0&resize=640%2C582&order=crop%2Cresize 640w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/8f/b8f4aaf6-5ca3-59a6-b90b-dc1ad9555eff/6647e58c03169.image.jpg?crop=1174%2C1067%2C377%2C0&resize=750%2C682&order=crop%2Cresize 750w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/8f/b8f4aaf6-5ca3-59a6-b90b-dc1ad9555eff/6647e58c03169.image.jpg?crop=1174%2C1067%2C377%2C0&resize=990%2C900&order=crop%2Cresize 990w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/8f/b8f4aaf6-5ca3-59a6-b90b-dc1ad9555eff/6647e58c03169.image.jpg?crop=1174%2C1067%2C377%2C0&resize=1035%2C941&order=crop%2Cresize 1035w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mtstandard.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/8f/b8f4aaf6-5ca3-59a6-b90b-dc1ad9555eff/6647e58c03169.image.jpg?crop=1174%2C1067%2C377%2C0&resize=1174%2C1067&order=crop%2Cresize 1200w)