Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts filed signatures for a ballot initiative that would add a section to the Montana Constitution stating that “Judicial elections shall remain nonpartisan.” Montana has used nonpartisan judicial elections since 1936. If the amendment is approved by voters in November, making judicial elections partisan would require another voter-approved constitutional amendment to enact.
In Montana, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 10% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, which equals 60,241 signatures for the 2026 cycle. Montana also has a distribution requirement that requires proponents to collect signatures equal to 10% of the qualified electors in each of two-fifths (40) of the state's 100 legislative districts. The committee reported submitting more than 100,000 signatures to county officials on June 10 for verification. The deadline to submit signatures to county officials is June 19. County officials have until July 17 to file certified petitions with the secretary of state.
The initiative has been endorsed by the ACLU of Montana, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana, Montana AFL-CIO, Montanans for Fair and Impartial Judges, and nine former state supreme court justices.
