Former lawmakers propose ballot initiatives that would open primaries

Frank Garner won eight elections to the Montana Legislature and seven of them were contested.

The former police officer from the Flathead area was a Republican in a place known for its conservative politics. Even he admits the final results of the contested elections weren’t even close.

So it might be surprising that for a lawmaker who has enjoyed the healthy, sustained success in state electoral politics that he’d be leading the charge for change, but he trusts one thing – Montana voters.

And if there’s one thing he’s certain those Montana voters – from Absorkee to Zortman – cherish the freedom to choose their own candidates. That’s why a coalition of former politicians are rallying behind two constitutional initiatives that would change how citizens vote.

The ballot initiatives, which are being reviewed before signature collecting can start, would make Montana primaries all open, and the top four vote-getters would advance to the general election, despite party affiliation or endorsement.

“Montanans would get to choose the person they want, and vote the best person,” Garner said. “I think that has a ton of value.”

He likened it to shopping for a new car: Imagine if you only had two choices, a red one or blue one. That’s it. That’s all the choices.

“Running in contested elections makes you a better legislator and makes you more responsive to the competition,” he said.

The second ballot measure would ask voters whether the winning candidate in any race should need a majority of votes to win the office. If so, then the Legislature would be tasked with creating a system that would determine how a candidate who got a plurality, but not a majority, of votes would win. Current Montana law says the top vote-getter, whether with a majority or not, win the general election. And, on occasion, statewide officer holders have won election while receiving less than 50% of the vote, or less than a majority.

Garner believes that the initiatives would give more choices to Montanans, and stop what he said is an example of the minority deciding for the majority.

He means that primary elections have historic and notoriously low voter turnout, sometimes in the 20 or 30% range. That means that less than one-third of the eligible voters choose the two candidates who will advance to the general election. Using basic math, that means that any candidate from a major political party could have the support of less than 20% of the eligible voters in the state and still advance to the general election. Instead, Garner hopes that this will expand the options voters have, and break the power of political parties, who get to back one candidate at the expense of others.

The language of the ballot measure specifically says that in order for a candidate to run with a party affiliation, they don’t need to have an endorsement of the party. Theoretically, multiple Democrats or Republicans could run simultaneously for the same seat.

The “top four” system would apply to elections for governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, state representative, state senator, United States representative, United States Senator and “other offices as provided by law.”

Garner believes these measures, which have the support of other former politicians, including former lawmakers Bruce Grubbs of Bozeman and Bruce Tutvedt of Kalispell, will shift the power balance back to where it belongs.

“This is about taking away from the parties and giving it back to the people,” Garner said. “How many people, if you asked the question today, would say they’re satisfied with their choices and who is representing them in office? It’s clear that the people want to see change and the best way to do that is inject competition into the system.”

He said that even though Montanans have put into place a Republican supermajority in the Legislature and the GOP dominates up and down the ballot, he said that many still feel alienated.

“A lot of people don’t identify with a party or candidates,” Garner said. “The current system doesn’t promote a look at everyone. This won’t change every face in every office. Want to get people back into politics? Give them choices.”

Paul Pope, an associate professor of political science at Montana State University-Billings, said that it’s likely the Republican Party would stand to lose the most from such a measure because of its supermajority and the way it has enforced ideological discipline within its party. Having more candidates could mean moving toward a more centrist model of governing, something that Pope didn’t see a lot of during the last legislative session.

“It would seem to me that the GOP would be extremely resistant to this change,” Pope said. “After all, conservative means to keep or hold back.”

Looking at these proposals, Pope said it would make it easier to cross the lines of political parties, and that primaries usually have extremely partisan rhetoric as candidates vie for those who are the most aligned with party values.

He said the current political system rewards the extremes of both political parties because the candidates who emerge from the primaries are usually more extreme, and it often leaves voters who are dissatisfied on the sidelines – choosing to “sit out” the election. However, with more choices, measures like these have the opportunity to engage more voters because there are more choices.

For example, issues like marijuana, LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive health enjoy solid majority support, often from both conservative and liberal sides of the spectrum. While the number of representatives may add up to a supermajority, it may not reflect the true political reality of the residents, and therefore open primaries could lead to more centrist candidates.

Meanwhile, Pope sees tremendous opportunity for moderate candidates if legislation like this passes because the state’s voters often find middle ground on education, approaches to crime and overall taxes.

“Montana really is the middle,” Pope said. “We are never usually extreme. It’s wonderful that we have a balance to these issues. For example, when you look at things like public education, we’re right in the middle; when you look at public safety or even marijuana, we’re in the middle. You don’t see that in a lot of states and it’s likely left of where the GOP is at currently.”

Darrell Ehrlick is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Montanan, a nonprofit newsroom. To read the article as originally published, click here.