Lawmakers approve pair of election referendums

HELENA — The Montana House has given its final endorsement to a pair of election referendums that sparked uproar in the Senate two weeks ago when Democrats failed in an attempt to block the bills.

Senate Bill 405 requires Montanans to register to vote the Friday before Election Day.

Senate Bill 408 allows the top two vote-getters in a primary election to advance to the next round, regardless of their political party.

Both bills passed the House on Wednesday and will appear on the 2014 ballot for voters, bypassing Gov. Steve Bullock’s potential veto.

Two other referendums failed to get the Senate’s approval — one that would enforce statewide guidelines on sex education and another that would add a constitutional amendment saying there is no constitutional guarantee to abortion.

SB405 by Sen. Alan Olson, R-Roundup, would change a 2005 state law and end voter registration at 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day.

People no longer would be able to register to vote on Election Day and then cast their votes the same day, as has been the case since the 2005 law passed.

Republicans say requiring voters to the register before election day would drive voters to be more responsible and decrease the wait time and long lines at the polls.

But Democrats call the referendum’s title intentionally misleading and say the measure is a strategic effort to suppress voters. After Sen. Bryce Bennett’s amendment to clarify the title failed, the Missoula Democrat remained vehemently against the measure that he said would curtail the constitutional rights of Montana residents.   

“In Montana we have a right to vote ... and that means everyone gets it, no matter what,” Bennett said. 

Democrats said the measure inherently strips minorities, the elderly and single mothers of voting rights, adding that it’s not the place of the Legislature to label people who register and vote on the same day as irresponsible.   

Republicans advanced SB408 despite Democratic objections that it would encourage a single-party system. 

The measure would prevent third-party candidates from stealing votes away from major party candidates in the general election, which has harmed Republican candidates in recent elections. 

Four other referendums are being considered at the Legislature.

The only highly publicized referendum that has bipartisan support is a measure that would redefine the state legislative term limits set by voters in the 1990s. The House and Senate still are trying to hash out differences in House Bill 277 that is designed to limit state legislators’ term limits to a maximum of 16 years in the Legislature. 

Other referendums include:

 House Bill 496 that would exempt religious organizations from campaign finance reports. It received the approval of the Senate State Administration Committee on Tuesday. 

 House Bill 521 has received the endorsement of the Senate Judiciary Committee. It would require parental consent for minors seeking abortion.

 House Bill 79, which has passed both chambers and would allow for a constitutional amendment to rename the office of the state auditor to the commissioner of securities and insurance.