Lawsuit against Montana brought by the Democratic Party and activist groups challenging four election integrity laws: House Bill 176, which discontinues same-day voter registration; Senate Bill 169, which refines voter identification requirements, namely restricting the use of student IDs as primary identification; House Bill 506, which prohibits the mailing of ballots to electors who do not meet age and residence requirements; and House Bill 530, which prohibits paid ballot harvesting.
The lower court issued a preliminary injunction to halt all four laws while the lawsuit proceeds. At the initial stage, the Montana Supreme Court temporarily restored two of the suspended laws (HB 176 and SB 169) for the state’s spring primaries. On July 27, the lower court permanently blocked HB 506 and turned down the Montana Secretary of State’s request for summary judgment, which went to trial from Aug. 15-24, 2022. On Sept. 21, the Montana Supreme Court upheld the preliminary injunction decision, again temporarily blocking HB 176 and SB 169. On Sept. 30, the lower court permanently halted HB 176, SB 169 and HB 530.
As to HB 176, HB 506, and HB 530, the lower court essentially held that any change to the status quo of election protocols at any given time constitutes a burden on fundamental rights warranting the highest level of judicial scrutiny. Before the Montana Supreme Court, RITE argues that this approach to elections would create a one-way ratchet in which legislatures may choose to loosen election regulations but could almost never justify tightening them.
As to SB 169, the lower court curiously adopted a more deferential posture toward the legislature but ultimately held that the law was invalid on the grounds that there was no evidence of fraud using student IDs. However, by the same token, no witness had testified that they used a student ID to vote or would ever need a student ID to vote. RITE argues further that the restriction is rationally related to the government’s interest in securing free and fair elections and imposes no proven burden here.
On Nov. 22, the Montana Secretary of State appealed the lower court’s decision to permanently block HB 176, SB 169 and HB 530. The appeal is pending in the Montana Supreme Court.