Lawsuits challenge three voter-related laws passed by Legislature

[RandySF]

Two lawsuits challenging three different voter-related laws passed during the 2025 Legislative Session were filed this month in Montana district courts, pushing back against a suite of bills Republican legislators have said are essential to preserve the integrity of the state’s elections.

The Montana Federation of Public Employees on Monday filed a lawsuit alleging a bill repealing election-day registration, and a bill strengthening voter ID requirements, are unconstitutional, while the Montana Public Interest Research Group (MontPIRG) filed suit earlier this month against a bill that prevents college students from voting in a community unless they intend to stay there permanently.

Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, signed all three bills, which largely passed along partisan lines, into law.

House Bill 413, introduced by Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Three Forks, changed the definition of residency in Montana code, stating that individuals cannot become residents, and therefore vote, in a county if they are there for “temporary work, training, or an educational program.” The bill includes a requirement that voters intend to make a county their permanent home following their temporary purpose in order to vote.


https://dailymontanan.com/2025/05/16/lawsuits-challenge-three-voter-related-laws-passed-by-legislature/

[FadedMullet]

1. Three times in my life I have moved to another state to go to a state university. All three times I paid out of state...

......tuition for the first year and then applied for and got in state tuition for my subsequent years of study. I didn't move out of the state in the summer as I was married with children and also working in the state, and that no doubt bolstered my claim of residency, but it was seen as no big deal at the time. It seems to me that an out of state student in Montana could register to vote as they start school and then claim that as proof of residency for tuition purposes.