Knudsen’s office blocks top-four primary ballot initiative, prompting lawsuit

The backers of a constitutional initiative that would reshape primary elections in Montana are suing the state for access to the ballot in 2024, arguing that Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office incorrectly determined the proposal was illegal.

The attorney general’s office determined in a review on Oct. 13 that Ballot Initiative #12, which would create a primary system that would advance the top four vote-getters to the general election regardless of party, violates the Montana Constitution and infringes on the Legislature’s authority to regulate elections. Last week, the initiative backers, a group called Montanans for Election Reform Action Fund, filed a challenge to that determination before the Montana Supreme Court. 

“We felt this was a likely part of the process,” former state lawmaker Frank Garner, R-Kalispell, one of the initiative group’s public faces, told Montana Free Press this week. “I think it’s common for the individuals who benefit from the current system to be concerned about how this process would change.”