Three lawsuits have been filed against the attorney general over his legal reviews on three potential ballot issues aiming to keep judicial races in Montana nonpartisan. The efforts to maintain nonpartisan judicial races follow on the heels of a legislative session where lawmakers considered several bills aimed at doing the opposite.

Constitutional Initiative 131 and Constitutional Initiative 132 are two similar, but separate, ballot initiatives which qualified to begin collecting signatures for the 2026 election. CI-131, submitted by Montanans for Fair and Impartial Judges, would mandate Montana Supreme Court and district court elections be nonpartisan if passed. CI-132, submitted in August by Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts, would create a new section in the state’s constitution mandat

See Full Page