Montana Ballot Access Bill Advances

On January 25, the House State Administration Committee unanimously passed HB 120. It moves the independent petition deadline (for office other than President) from March to May. It also lets individuals file as independent presidential or vice-presidential candidates, even if they have run for office under a party label during the previous year. And it restores the primary for all ballot-qualified parties that have at least two candidates for the same office.

The same committee, on the same day, defeated HB 108, which would have required voters at the polls to show a government photo-ID. But the Committee passed HB 30, which eliminates the ability of individuals to register to vote on primary day. Instead everyone must register no later than the Friday before the election.


Comments

Montana Ballot Access Bill Advances — No Comments

  1. Voters should be more responsible, and not wait until the last minute, on election day to vote. Same day voting tends to help Democrats more then Republicans, from what I’ve seen. An ID at the polls is a good idea, but many of these bills want a REAL ID type of ID, and not just a Costco card or other type of ID.

  2. “Same day voting tends to help Democrats more then Republicans, from what I’ve seen.”

    Election day voter registration benefits minor party and independent candidates, because a lot of their potential support base are not registered to vote. Why aren’t these people registered to vote? A lot of them are not registered to vote because they do not believe in the two major parties, therefore they feel that they do not have anyone for whom it is worth it for them to cast a vote.

    Minnesota is one of the states that already has election day voter registration, and I know that Jesse Ventura got a lot of votes from people who registered to vote on election day in the race where he got elected Governor.

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