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Missoula County, MT ballot

Constitutional Initiative No. 132: Nonpartisan Judicial Elections

Missoula County, Montana · November 3, 2026

Writes a requirement that judicial elections stay nonpartisan into the Montana Constitution.

Full ballot text

CI-132 amends the Montana Constitution to require that judicial elections remain nonpartisan.

What it does

Montana elects its judges in nonpartisan races under state law, which the Legislature can change. CI-132 would write that requirement into the Montana Constitution, so putting party labels on judicial races would take another constitutional amendment. A no vote leaves the rule to state law.

How it lines up with you

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Dossier

Researched 2026-09-23 · Claude Code research agent with web search

A yes vote adds one sentence to the Montana Constitution, "Judicial elections shall remain nonpartisan," making constitutional a rule that has been in state law since 1935; a no vote leaves it as ordinary law the Legislature can change. Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts, backed by retired Supreme Court justices, the ACLU of Montana, public-employee and labor unions, and other groups, supports it; the Montana Republican Party opposes it.

For
  • Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts (ballot committee) source
  • Montana Federation of Public Employees source
  • Big Sky 55+ source
  • ACLU of Montana source
  • Forward Montana source
  • Catalyst Montana source
  • Montana AFL-CIO source
  • Nine retired Montana Supreme Court justices, including Mike McGrath source
  • Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana source
  • Montanans for Fair and Impartial Judges (sponsors of the withdrawn CI-131) source
  • Northern Plains Resource Council source
Against
  • Montana Republican Party (resolution opposing CI-132) source
  • Art Wittich, Montana Republican Party chairman source

What it does

Yes adds to the Montana Constitution: "Judicial elections shall remain nonpartisan" (official text). Today the Constitution leaves judicial elections to state law (Montana Constitution), which has required nonpartisan races since 1935 (Daily Montanan news, Oct. 2025). No leaves it in statute, which several 2025 Republican bills sought to change (Montana Free Press, June 2026).

Why it's on the ballot

Monica Paoli and Megan Simpson filed it Aug. 15, 2025 (Secretary of State); Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts (MNC) gathered signatures (NBC Montana, Mar. 2026). Attorney General Austin Knudsen rewrote its ballot statement to define nonpartisan as no party labels, "including labels like Independent" (Daily Montanan); the Supreme Court rejected the rewrite for having "injected politics into a straightforward proposition" (Daily Montanan, Jan. 2026). It needed 60,241 signatures (Ballotpedia News, Aug. 2026) and was certified Aug. 17, 2026 (Secretary of State).

Who supports it and why

Backers include the Montana Federation of Public Employees and ACLU of Montana (Daily Montanan), the Montana AFL-CIO and nine retired Supreme Court justices (NBC Montana). Spokesperson Caitie Butler says voters want judges answering "to the constitution and Montana citizens, not political parties and special interests" (NBC Montana).

Who opposes it and why

The Montana Republican Party passed a resolution against it, saying "the Montana Supreme Court has long acted as a partisan Democrat bench" (Montana Free Press). It favors letting candidates list a "political designation if they so choose" (Ballotpedia News).

Money

MNC raised $2.79 million from July 2025 to late May 2026, including $600,000 each from the ACLU Foundation and Global Impact Social Welfare Fund–Montana (Montana Free Press); Ballotpedia counted over $3.3 million through June 25 (Ballotpedia News). No opposing spending found; state filings weren't directly readable (Political Practices site).

What to watch

The amendment does not define "nonpartisan" or mention party endorsements (text); a 2012 federal appeals ruling struck down Montana's ban on party endorsements in judicial races (Ballotpedia News, June 2026). The ballot carries no fiscal statement (text).

What we couldn't find

Official pamphlet arguments are not yet posted (Secretary of State); it mails by Oct. 5, 2026 (official calendar). No opposition committee found.

Sources (14)