A Helena jury has determined that Montana lawmakers did not prioritize partisan advantage when redrawing the state’s utility commission districts. A Lewis and Clark County court ruled 9-3 in favor of the 2023 Legislature, which faced accusations of gerrymandering Public Service Commission districts by Montana Conservation Voters and five individuals. The Public Service Commission (PSC) regulates rates for NorthWestern Energy and Montana Dakota Utilities, impacting 430,000 captive Montana utility customers lacking free-market choices.
Defense attorney Thane Johnson asserted that lawmakers created five districts with evenly distributed populations, responding to a 2022 federal court review of PSC districts. The outdated PSC map from 2003 was deemed unconstitutional by a panel of federal judges, prompting the state to use court-approved districts for the 2022 elections. In 2023, lawmakers crafted five new districts with population variances under one percent.
However, the new districts, initiated by Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, split Montana’s six largest communities, diluting urban voters’ influence. Urban voters in Montana, who tend to vote Democratic, argued that the new PSC districts favored Republicans, who currently hold all five seats. Plaintiffs included former Republicans Donald Seifert and Bob Brown, among others. The trial also involved Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen as a defendant.
The jury focused on whether the primary aim of the Legislature was partisan favoritism. By Jan. 4, attorneys will present arguments on the districts’ compliance with the U.S. Constitution. Mathematician Stephanie Somersille analyzed the districts, revealing that, despite Democrats securing 40% of recent statewide votes, the new maps offered them no chance of winning a PSC district.
Somersille stated, “I found with typical voting patterns the map would have awarded zero seats to Democrats.” Most political districts in Montana are redrawn every decade based on the U.S. Census, but PSC districts are unique, being adjusted at lawmakers’ discretion.
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