Three ballot initiatives were certified for the November ballot on Aug. 17 in Montana. The initiatives address judicial elections, the initiative and referendum power, and political spending by artificial persons.
CI-132 is a constitutional amendment that would provide that judicial elections remain nonpartisan. Montana has elected its judges since 1889, when it ratified its first constitution and became a state. Initially, they were chosen in partisan elections. The law was changed to create nonpartisan elections in 1909, but that change lasted only one election cycle, as the Supreme Court found the nonpartisan system unconstitutional in 1911. The state legislature adopted nonpartisan judicial elections again in 1935, and the state has used the method since 1936.
Methods of judicial election vary across the country but can be classified as partisan elections, nonpartisan elections, or retention elections. Twenty-five states use a single method (partisan, nonpartisan, or retention); seventeen states use a combination of the three; and eight states don't have judicial elections. In total, 19 states use partisan elections, 21 states use nonpartisan elections, and 21 states use retention elections.
