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location or for specific hours that a polling location is open. 09/09/20 Trial Tr. (Corson) at 4 I 4 :1 1 -22; 4 1 5 :20 -22; and 45 7 : 1 9-45 8 : 5. m. Based on the above identified socio-economic and geographic barriers Native American voters living on rural reservations still have reduced access to early voting. Stip. Ex. 31-34. 22. Early Voting a. While individual Native American voters' ballots may also be dropped off at county election offrces during the full early voting period, they are located in county seats off-reservation. 09/08/20 Trial Tr. (Bear Don't Walk) at 189:.24-190:4; Pl. Ex. I 13, Tt221 b. Stip.Ex.2. Chairwoman Fyant testified that in her experience some CSKT members will not vote in person because oftensions between non-Native and Native populations co- existing on the reservation. 09108/20 Trial Tr. (Fyant) at 108:16-25. c. Native Americans living on reservations wanting to avail themselves the full early voting period, using county election offices, would have to travel further than their non-Native counterparts who live off-reservation. Pl. Ex. 113 at 9-1l/Stip. Ex. 2; see also 09110120 Tr. (McCool) at 325:10-326:16,330:10-322:10;09/10120 Tial Tr. (Hood) at 583:.12-21. d. Because of these many barriers, individual Native American voters in rwal reservation communities rely on third parties' collection and conveyance of their ballots to cast their votes. Agreed Facts Nos. 25, 30, 35,44; see also 09/08/20 Trial Tr. (Perez) aI 7 4 :1 | -7 5:2. 20

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Western Native Voice v. Stapleton

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether the Ballot Interference Prevention Act violates the Plaintiff’s right to vote, right to free speech, right to association, and due process.

Alleged Acts: Montana presents unique challenges as the fourth largest state in terms of land size, but the third least densely populated. Consequently, most voters utilize the absentee voting procedure. Montana also is home to seven Reservations, intersecting with sixteen different counties. These Reservations each have unique challenges to voting including a lack of home mail delivery, transportation that does not run on a regular route, taking administrative leave to drive in groups to polling stations, limited mail routes and drop-off locations, lack of convenient P.O. boxes, and mail delays. Further, many Native American Reservations have difficulties traveling due to high poverty levels, lack of working vehicles, car insurance, licenses to drive off of reservations, or money for gasoline to travel to polling stations. Some Native Americans on Montana Reservations have voted through the collection and conveyance of their ballot to local election offices by community members and third parties.

Summary: The Defendants failed to provide evidence that the state of Montana has or ever had a problem with unsolicited ballot collection or ballot interference. Thus, because the Ballot Prevention Act interferes with fundamental rights it is required to meet strict scrutiny. The Ballot Interference Prevention Acts limits the number of ballots per collector to six ballots and the court determined that this did not meet a compelling state interests, lack basis, and the voter were uninformed of this limitation at the time of voting — ultimately failing a strict scrutiny test.

Conclusion: The court found in favor of the Plaintiffs stating that the Ballot Interference Prevention Action violated the right to free speech, right to vote, right to association, and right to due process.

Legal Issue(s)

Elections as a Fundamental Right
Indigenous Persons
Vote Verification and Transmission

Applicable Law(s): Ballot Inference Prevention Act

Region: Americas

Country: United States of America

Language of Decision

English

Court: Trial Court

Election Type: Review of law

Date of decision: Sep 25, 2020

Geolocation

Latitude: 46.55684320353664

Longitude: -112.0529752389978

: Geolocation

Primary Documents

Western Native Voice v. Stapleton.pdf
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Election Judgments - IFES

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Western Native Voice v. Stapleton

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