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would be too cumbersome for their office to investigate each and every form that may have been missing some information. Mangan Dep. Tr. 81:7-83:7. xiii. The COPP has received Registry Forms that have been tumed in blank or filled out by fictional characters but has not investigated any of these occurrences. See Mangan Dep. Tr. 86:9-87: 1 8; 87:2 1 -90: 1 8; 9 1 :1 -92:20; 126:4-127 -20; Pl. Exs. 49, 50, 5 1, 52. xiv. The Attomey General's office could also prosecute violations of BIPA but has determined it will leave prosecutions up to the County Attomeys, even if there is uneven enforcement of BIPA. AG Dep. Tr. 88:11-89:9. xv. The Attorney General acknowledges the risks of inconsistent enforcement but has not issued any guidelines or directives for enforcement of BIPA. AG Dep. Tr. e. 88: 1 1-89:9. $500 fine. i. Violation of BIPA is subject to "a fine of $500 for each ballot unlawfully collected." Mont. Code Arur. $ 13-35-705; see also 09108120 Trial Tr. (Mclean) ar 50:3-24. ii. The statute fails to delineate whether this penalty is civil or criminal in nature. Mont. Code Ann. $ 13-35-705;see also Mangan Dep. Tr.70:1-5. iii. No document produced by the offices of the Secretary of State or Political Practices provides any guidance on whether the penalty is 09110120 civil or criminal. Trial Tr. (Corson) at 472:18-474:16; Mangan Dep. Tr. 70:1-5, 70: 13- 18, 124:8-22; see also CookDep. Tr.34:22-35:5; 35:8-9. 35

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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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