Montanans back abortion amendment, nix election reform initiatives

Montanans on Tuesday voted 57% in favor of a constitutional amendment aimed at safeguarding abortion access in the state.  

The Associated Press called the race for CI-128 about 4 a.m. Wednesday morning. The subject of intense campaigning from anti-abortion and abortion-rights groups in the lead up to the Nov. 5 election, the initiative passed by more than 78,000 votes.  

The language in CI-128 asked voters if they wanted to amend the state constitution to expressively provide a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion. It also prohibits the government from burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability, as well as laying out protections for health care workers who perform abortions.  

Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights led the campaign for the ballot initiative. In a release on Wednesday the group celebrated victory at the ballot box. 

“... Montanans voted overwhelmingly to defend reproductive freedom and enshrine in the state constitution the right to make and carry out their own personal decisions about pregnancy and abortion,” Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights President Christopher Coburn said. “It is a consequential day for Montana and the people of our great state ... Ultimately, voters from across the political spectrum came together to protect access to abortion care, reproductive freedom and personal privacy.” 

Coburn’s group had over 500 volunteers working with the campaign in the run up to the election. 

The road to get the initiative on the ballot was rocky. Challenges began cropping up in January when Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen deemed it legally insufficient because it grouped together multiple distinct legal questions about abortion in one amendment. The Montana Supreme Court later ruled that Knudsen’s finding was incorrect and that the ballot issue could advance through the multistep process to appear on this fall’s ballot.  

In April, Republican Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen cleared the proposal’s supporters to begin collecting signatures to put CI-128 on the ballot. But in the following months, Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights staffers and volunteers repeatedly clashed with anti-abortion groups and protesters, many of whom followed signature-gatherers around in an effort to deter voter support.  

Conflict over the amendment again flared up in July when Jacobsen’s office decided to exclude registered voters who were listed as inactive from counting toward the signature threshold, reversing longstanding precedent. 

Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights organizers said in Wednesday’s release that despite the opposition, their coalition was able to overcome the challenges “by sharing the facts and bringing voters across the political spectrum together.” 

“This is a huge win for Montana, but now we must continue the hard work of educating citizens about the importance of reproductive health care and the ongoing threats to our reproductive freedom at all levels,” President & CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana Martha Fuller said. 

Organizers with Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights said the outcome of other races in Montana and across the country could affect Montanans’ reproductive rights. They said they and their partners will remain vigilant while working to support Montana patients and families.  

Ashley All with Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights said if a federal abortion ban is passed, it would overrule the new Montana state constitutional right.   

“This is a significant victory for our state, but we know anti-abortion politicians will not give up. Our coalition will continue to stand up for our freedom and our right to make private medical decisions,” Executive director of ACLU of Montana Akilah Deernose said. “Some politicians will continue to try to undermine these rights, but together, Montanans will continue to fight for our freedom over personal healthcare decisions.” 

Montana also has its fair share of pro-life groups, many of whom mourned the election results. SBA Pro-Life America attributed the loss to the amount of money abortion-access groups spent promoting the initiative. They also accused the amendment's supporters of deceiving voters.  

“We’re thankful for the bold voices and tireless efforts of SBA’s field team in Montana,” said Western Regional Director Adam Schwend. “They labored in love to save their state from this terrible outcome, spending countless hours sharing the truth about the abortion industry’s radical amendment. Our hearts go out to the babies, women and parents in Montana whose rights have been stripped away by this radical measure.”    

TWO OTHER constitutional initiatives to overhaul the state’s elections met defeat at the ballot box. 

CI-126 would have created an open primary election so that all candidates regardless of party would appear on the same ballot in June, according to the language of the amendment. The top four candidates would move on to the November election. 

CI-127 called for switching from plurality voting to majority voting. The measure required that the top candidate in any race be elected with a majority (50% or more) rather than a plurality of the vote. If no candidate received at least 50% of the vote, then the Legislature would determine how the winner is selected. 

CI-126 was rejected 51.8% to 48.2% and CI-127 was rejected 60.9% to 39.1%, according to the Associated Press, which called the races at around 9 a.m. Nov. 6.  

Both measures were supported by Montanans For Election Reform. Board member Frank Garner said in a statement Wednesday that it was disappointing to see “politicians and special interests once again succeed at stopping Montanans from gaining more power in our elections.” 

“We fought hard against the entrenched politicians and special interests who didn’t want to give voters more voice and better choices on the ballot because the current system benefits them, not voters,” Garner said. “We still believe open primaries are a powerful tool to hold politicians accountable and put the power over our elections back in the hands of voters, but they aren’t the only path forward. We will continue to stand up for freedom and choice in our elections.” 

Garner told the Daily Inter Lake on Wednesday that he appreciated the opportunity to talk about these issues with voters. He said it’s been an honor to work as a volunteer with a group of people that shared the mission of “open primaries and giving people the freedom to vote who they want to.” 

"So many Montanans agree that this is important to them, and that kind of helps salve the wound a little bit,” Garner said.  

He said at the end of any campaign, organizers can become reflective and think about missed opportunities. Even though they spent time trying to reach as many people as they could throughout the state, Garner said Montana covers a lot of land. 

And in an election year with contentious senatorial, gubernatorial and presidential races, it becomes obvious how big a task it is to try to reach people in every corner of the state. 

“I still have driven down new roads and seen new places because of this campaign. So you always wish you had more time to visit and reach more people. But these campaigns are finite, and eventually you run out of runway,” Garner said. 

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com.