Western Native Voice v. Jacobsen

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Montana, NARF, and the Harvard Election Law Clinic challenged two Montana laws that hinder Native American participation in the state’s electoral process. These groups represent Western Native Voice and Montana Native Vote, Native American-led organizations focused on getting out the vote and increasing civic participation in the Native American community; and the Blackfeet Nation, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Fort Belknap Indian Community, and Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

HB 176 ended EDR, which reservation voters have disproportionately relied on to cast votes in Montana. The second, HB 530, blocked paid third-party ballot collection, another practice on which Native Americans living on reservations disproportionately rely. A bill similar to HB 530 had previously been struck down as unconstitutional.

On April 6, 2022, the Montana Thirteenth Judicial District Court granted Plaintiffs a preliminary injunction against both HB 176 and HB 530. The State appealed the preliminary injunction only against HB 176. On September 21, 2022, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed that preliminary injunction that found that HB 176 likely violated Plaintiffs’ right to vote.

On September 30, 2022, after a two-week trial, the Montana Thirteenth Judicial District Court permanently enjoined HB 530 and HB 176. The Court found that HB 530 violated Plaintiffs’ rights to vote, equal protection, free speech, and due process under the Montana Constitution. The Court also found that HB 176 violated Plaintiffs’ rights to vote and equal protection under the Montana Constitution. The State appealed that decision to the Montana Supreme Court.

On March 27, 2024, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed the Thirteenth Judicial District Court’s decision and ruled that the two challenged laws violate the fundamental right to vote under the Montana Constitution. The Court specifically found that the two laws made it “much more difficult on average for people living on reservations to either get to a polling place on or before election day, or to mail an absentee ballot prior to election day.”