High court denies bid to restore Greens on Montana ballot
Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton said Thursday he is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that took the Montana Green Party off the November ballot after Republicans bankrolled the effort to get them on it. (AP Photo/Matt Volz,File)
HELENA (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court denied on Tuesday the Montana Secretary of State’s attempt to restore the names of Green Party candidates to the November ballot.
The party’s removal followed revelations that the Montana Republican Party had bankrolled the $100,000 signature-gathering effort that put the Greens on the ballot and violated finance laws by not reporting the spending.
Republican Secretary of State Corey Stapleton filed a motion Monday to halt a state Supreme Court order last week that upheld the party’s removal. The request was denied by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.
Stapleton’s certification of the ballot, sent to counties late Thursday, included an asterisk saying the secretary and other parties were challenging the Montana Supreme Court decision.
Green Party candidates are believed to draw votes away from Democratic candidates, and Montana has tight races for both a U.S. Senate and U.S. House seat.