On December 4, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Lovell upheld Montana’s law that bans out-of-state circulators for initiative petitions. He also upheld the Montana law that bans paying initiative circulators on a per-signature basis. Pierce v Stapleton, 6:18cv-63. Here is the 33-page opinion, which fails to mention most of the precedents striking down such laws. The judge said there isn’t enough evidence in this case to justify striking down either law. He wrote, “Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that there are not enough Montana residents to serve as circulators or that Montana residents are inferior communicators.”
Judge Lovell is a Reagan appointee, and is age 91.