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bb. Both the Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan and Scott Cook, the legal investigator for the Commissioner Commissioner of Political of Political Practices, testified that the Practices Office was responsible for investigating complaints of voter fraud. Mangan Dep Tr. 25:21-26:11;27:14-28:6;28:20-29:19; 34:15-17;35:3-5; 35:8-13; 35:15-18; 35:20-21;36:2-9;36:10-37:19; Cook Dep. Tr. 20:6-20, 21:3-12; see also Pl. Ex. 28. Commissioner Mangan has given trainings to election administrators where he has told them to inform his office if they suspect vote fraud. Mangan Dep. Tr. 159:21-163:1;163:21-164:16. cc. Commissioner Mangan testified that during his tenure he could only recall one instance of voter fraud, and that case involved a ballot signatue. Mangan Dep. Tr. 319-21. dd. Scott Cook testified that he was aware of all the investigations conducted in the office and he was unaware of any voter fraud investigations, Cook Dep. Tr.25:2126:6. ee. The Secretary of State's Office said there is no evidence in Montana of collectors not retuming ballots or of a collector interfering with a voter or with a ballot. 09110120 ff. Trial Tr. (Corson) at 51 I : l0-22. The Attorney General's Office agreed that Montana does not have a problem with voter fiaud. AG Dep. Tr.3l:22-32:6. gg. Big Hom County Elections Administrator Dulcie Bear Don't Walk agreed that there are no documented instances ofvoter fraud in the context ofballot collection and conveyance. 09108/20 Trial Tr. (Bear Don't Walk) at 171:4-14. 29

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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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