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h. They collect ballots on all seven reservations in Montana. 09/08120 Trial Tr. (Mclean) at27:15-20;09108/20 Trial Tr. @erez) at 68:18-69: l. i. Organizational Plaintiffs hire organizers living on reservation and pay them to collect voted ballots on their reservation and deliver them to election offices. For example, in 2016 Organizational Plaintiffs had I zl-l 8 organizers working to deliver and collect ballots in Montana. During the 2018 election cycle, Organizational Plaintiffs employed 32 organizers in Montana, with between 15 and 22 organizers on staff at a given time. 09/08/20 Trial Tr. (Mclean) at27:5-11,37:5-12; see also 09108120 j. Trial Tr. (Perez) at 68:3-5; 75:5-8. Each organizer participates in several days of training, which includes a discussion ofthe history of suppression ofthe Native American vote and the importance ofthe Native vote. 09108/20 Trial Tr. (Mclean) at 32:2-5; Pl. Ex. 139. k. Organizational Plaintiffs' GOTV work has been critical to increasing voter tumout in Montana. 09108/20 Trial Tr. (Mclean) at 40:15-18; Pl.Ex.22. l. In 2018, Organizational Plaintiffs hired local community organizers to collect and convey ballots for Native American voters on reservations and in urban Indian centers. 09/08/20 Trial Tr. (Mclean) at27:5-11,37:5-12. m. These organizations have been very successful in their work to facilitate Native American voting, due largely to their ballot collection efforts. Pl.F;x.22;09108120 Trial Tr. (Mclean) at 51:21-52:13;09108120 Trial Tr. (Perez) at 68:18-69:13. n. In20l8, eighty o. percent ofthe voters they contacted voted. Pl.8x.22. In 2018, these organizers collected and conveyed at least 853 ballots. 09/08/20 Triat Tr. (Mclean) aI39:11-17; Pl. Ex.'s 22, 128. 23

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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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