Article Summary –
The campaign behind a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights in Montana can begin collecting signatures after a week of legal battles. The campaign, involving groups such as Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana, the ACLU of Montana, and Forward Montana, received a sample petition with the court-issued ballot language from Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen. The campaign needs to collect upwards of 60,000 verified signatures from registered voters across 40 state House districts by 21st June, and they aim to surpass this number to account for a margin of error.
The campaign supporting Montana’s Constitutional Initiative-128, a proposed amendment for abortion rights protection, can now begin gathering thousands of signatures required to place the proposal on the 2024 November ballot. This move comes following a week of legal battles. The Constitutional Initiative-128 proposal is supported by various groups, including Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana, the ACLU of Montana and Forward Montana.
The campaign group received the sample petition after Montana’s Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen delivered it. This development is one step closer to gathering signatures, allowing Montana voters to voice their opinion on this critical issue. However, the process was marred by needless complexity and obstacles, causing delays for the campaign.
Legal disagreements over the initiative’s language and the timing of signature gathering led to a flurry of legal filings. The state Supreme Court justices demanded Jacobsen finalize the petition. Yet, an objection was raised, arguing that Jacobsen and Attorney General Austin Knudsen were not given due notice of the latest legal filings, nor had Jacobsen been given a chance to respond. However, the court dismissed these arguments.
The court’s recent decisions stirred up discontent among Republican lawmakers. The legislative review process was bypassed, sparking passionate objections from Republican lawmakers. Despite the court’s interpretation, Republican leadership decided to issue Jacobsen a subpoena for a copy of the proposed initiative and engage in debate as signature gathering begins.
Richie Melby, Secretary of State spokesperson, stated that by providing the sample petition and handing over relevant documents to the Legislature, the office was complying with the court order, state law, and lawmakers’ subpoena.
The campaign has until June 21 to gather over 60,000 signatures from registered voters across 40 state House districts. The campaign aims to go beyond this threshold to account for any margin of error. The campaign is one of many across the country battling to protect abortion rights through a ballot initiative or constitutional amendment following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
Similar initiatives have found success in other states in the past few years. Montana voters previously rejected a Republican-backed referendum that critics argued would interfere in infant palliative care for newborns with terminal conditions. Even though the measure wouldn’t have explicitly changed Montana abortion law, its defeat was hailed as a victory for medical privacy by reproductive rights advocates.
Democrats nationwide are backing the move to get a progressive abortion initiative on the ballot, viewing it as a way to boost voter turnout. The MSRR campaign’s lead lawyer, Raph Graybill, is a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. An event marking the beginning of signature gathering is planned soon, according to MSRR spokesperson Mary Sullivan.
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