A Montana District Court Judge Michael G. Moses, appointed by Democrat former Governor Steve Bullock, struck down a series of three laws passed in 2021 to secure elections on September 30.
The laws that tightened Montana’s voter identification laws, making college-issued IDs invalid, outlawed paid ballot harvesting, and ended the practice of Election Day registration were ruled “unconstitutional.”
Pending an appeal to the Montana Supreme Court in Helena, student IDs will be valid to vote, ballot harvesting won’t merely be legal, but could even provide a paycheck and Election Day registration will be permitted in the 2022 Election, according to The Daily Montanan.
“Following these District Court orders holding BIPA (Ballot Interference Prevention Act) unconstitutional, the Secretary presented no evidence that the Legislature considered what was unconstitutional about BIPA or made any effort to craft HB530 to remediate the access issues identified by the court,” Moses wrote in his ruling.
He added, “To the contrary, the one legislator that the Secretary called to testify at trial stated that he did not study impediments on Native American voters when ballot collection is restricted, did not read the opinions finding BIPA unconstitutional, made no effort to learn why BIPA was held unconstitutional, but nonetheless support HB 530.”
Montana Appeal Uncertain
The Associated Press reported that Montana Election officials have declined to announce if they will appeal the decision or not. With the election in just a month, it noted, “it’s uncertain if justices would render a decision before Nov. 8”
According to the AP, Native American tribes in the state sued, arguing that the laws against accepting student ID and outlawing paid ballot collection would harm voters on far-flung reservations.
Judge Moses reportedly said that the laws’ authors and sponsors showed no proof that voter fraud was a problem in Montana. “Voter fraud in Montana is vanishingly rare,” he wrote. The Democrat appointee added, there were “significant signs” that the ballot collection law had “a discriminatory purpose against Native American voters” according to the AP.
He further argued, that invalidating student ID as an acceptable voter ID was designed by Republicans “to reduce voting by young people for perceived political benefit.”
“Young voters and voters in all other age groups are otherwise similarly situated, but SB 169’s prohibition on out-of-state driver’s licenses or Montana college or university IDs – two forms of accepted for years without resulting in a single known instance of fraud or any other problem – disproportionately and disparately burdens young voters,” Judge Moses wrote.
“It is no accident that the Legislature passed SB 169 just months after Montana’s youngest voters turned out to vote at record rates.”
“HB 530 is a solution in search of a problem,” Moses added. “It furthers no legitimate, let alone compelling, state interest and constitutes a disproportionate, severe, and unconstitutional burden on Plaintiffs’ constitutional right to vote.”
Judge Moses has routinely ruled along distinct partisan lines, supporting transgender ideology, striking down a law that prevented seventeen-year-olds from getting ballots before their 18th birthday, and blocking laws restricting abortion.
