The Montana Supreme Court issued a ruling on Wednesday declaring that a set of voting reform laws enacted by the state Legislature in 2021 violates the fundamental right to vote.
This decision upholds a previous 2022 lower court ruling, which deemed four voting-related bills from the 2021 session unconstitutional and unenforceable.
The ruling by the Montana Supreme Court focused on four bills, one of which eliminated same-day voter registration and set the registration deadline at 12 p.m. the day before an election. Citing the lower court's determination that same-day registration was widely popular and utilized by tens of thousands of voters, the high court agreed that the law interfered with fundamental voting rights.
One law mandated the Montana secretary of state to establish administrative rules to prohibit the paid collection and submission of absentee ballots by individuals or groups. The lower court observed that ballot collection methods are frequently utilized in remote regions and Native reservations, where polling places are distant or for individuals with disabilities.
The Montana Supreme Court ruled that it remains illegal to compensate ballot collectors based on the number of ballots they collect. However, the court clarified that it will permit payment to employees for tasks that involve general ballot collection.
