Preliminary votes are tallied for elections-related ballot initaitves
At 10 p.m. on election night, both elections-related ballot initiatives had fewer yes votes than no votes with only 6% of precincts fully reporting.
None of the state's major population centers, like Gallatin, Yellowstone, Cascade or Missoula counties, had reported a single vote as of 10 p.m.
Roughly 56% of the votes for CI-126 were no votes, meaning 44% of people voted for the measure. CI-127 had garnered 64% against votes to 36% supporting.
CI-126 would amend the state's Constitution to require a top-four primary election for all statewide candidates (like governor and attorney general), legislative candidates and Montana's federal delegation, but notably would not pertain to the Public Service Commission. All of the candidates, regardless of political party, would appear on the same ballot in the primary. 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 when they go to the polls or cast a ballot by mail.
The top four vote-getters will move on to the general election, which is where their second initiative, CI-127, then comes into play. CI-127 will likewise amend the Montana Constitution to provide that candidates must get over 50% of the vote, as opposed to a simple plurality of the vote. The legislature would be tasked with deciding on a mechanism — like ranked choice voting, for example — to implement if a candidate does not get a majority of the vote.
Solely getting a plurality usually occurs in tight elections, like in 2012 when neither Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester or former Republican U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg eclipsed 50%, but because Tester got a plurality, he prevailed. If CI-127 were in place, those election results would not be final and would move forward to a form of runoff.
A large part of the reason the results are slowly coming in Tuesday evening is because of a provision in Montana law, which states that everyone in line must have voted in a county before any results can be released. If someone is still in line after 8 p.m., they are eligible to vote.
After 8 p.m. in Gallatin County, a key voting bloc, there were still long lines to vote. Once initial results are released, elections administrators will provide updated results "at least once every three hours until completion."
These ballot initiative vote counts come after months of signature gathering, millions of dollars raised almost entirely out of state organizations, multiple legal hurdles and stiff opposition from key leaders in Montana's Republican Party.
The organizers behind MER said they would have preferred to combine the two initiatives, but they were not legally able to because of Montana's "logrolling" rule, which stipulates a single ballot initiative cannot contain multiple amendments to the state's Constitution.
Because of their separation, one of the initiatives, which are meant to work together, could pass and the other could fail, despite MER's work to implore voters to vote for both if they plan to vote for one. One organizer said they sensed more apprehension around CI-127 in the days leading up to election day, in part because CI-127 would have required the legislature to choose the voting mechanism and people do not trust the legislature, the organizer explained.
Supporters of the two initiatives, which are backed by the group Montanans for Election Reform (MER), say these changes are needed to reduce the influence of political parties and outside groups and reduce polarization that can result from a party-based primary election.
MER's leaders include Republicans, Democrats and Independents and the group has continually reminded people that it is not aligned with any political party. That said, the Montana GOP is vehemently opposed to the effort and has ramped up efforts in recent weeks to push back against the initiatives, raising roughly half a million dollars to oppose the effort, party chairman Don "K" Kaltschmidt said Thursday. Kaltschmidt added that Republicans Rep. Ryan Zinke, Sen. Steve Daines and Gov. Greg Gianforte all assisted in raising cash to oppose the measures.
The state GOP previously passed a resolution opposing ranked choice voting — which is one of the options if CI-127 passes.
Kaltschmidt said he worries that the measures could "discourage voting," "impose longer polling place lines," and "make it more difficult to understand the principles of every candidate."
"Why would we put that on the back of the taxpayer when we have a perfectly good system now?" Kaltschmidt added. "If it isn't broke don't fix it."
It's unclear how much these measures will cost to implement, however. The Montana Secretary of State's office did not provide the Montana State News Bureau with a cost estimate.
Frank Garner, former Republican state representative leading MER, said they "considered" the Legislature's "shenanigans" when they were drafting CI-127.
"They have a very narrow path to make a decision constitutionally," he said, adding that they essentially have to choose between run-off elections or instant runoffs because of how they drafted the language.
To qualify a constitutional initiative for the ballot, the groups behind them had to gather over 60,000 signatures across at least 40 legislative districts. But after saying they gathered the required number of signatures and before the initiatives officially qualified for the ballot, the group hit multiple legal snags when attempting to have their signatures approved.
Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen was sued in July by MER and others when her office barred county elections officials from tallying certain signatures. The Lewis and Clark County judge in that case ruled against Jacobsen, requiring her to reverse course and allow county clerks to count all valid signatures towards the effort. In Lake County, a group of Republicans including Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, sued Jacobsen in an attempt to stop her from certifying CI-126 and CI-127 for the ballot. The judge in that case deferred to the Lewis and Clark County ruling and dismissed it with prejudice.
The other statewide ballot initiative that was in front of voters this cycle was CI-128, which codifies the right to pre-viability abortions in the state's Constitution. About 56% of people voted yes on that initiative as of 10 p.m. with only 6% of precincts reporting.
Victoria Eavis is a reporter for the Montana State News Bureau.
Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. State Bureau Reporter
