30 April 2018 — 1024 mdt
Montana Green Party ballot access case update
Arguments in the Montana Democratic Party’s lawsuit to kick the Green Party off the ballot in Montana resume today in Judge Seeley’s court in Helena. Last week, there were three parties to the argument: the MDP, the GP, and Montana’s Secretary of State. Today there may be four, as the Montana Republican Party asked to intervene in the case.
At The Montana Post, Pete Talbot has a good summary of the attorneys trying the case, Green Party ballot status gets hinkier and hinkier.
And SecST Corey Stapleton used his newsletter to defend his agency’s employees (his full statement is below).
According to KTVH TV, the MT GOP will argue that having the Greens on the ballot helps Republicans beat Democrats.
In their legal brief, the MRLCC argued Green candidates are likely to draw votes away from Democrats, so removing them from the ballot will make it harder for Republican candidates to win certain legislative seats and require the committee to spend more resources in those districts.
That’s the same argument the Democrats are making. Both parties assume the election is a zero-sum game in which Greens and Democrats compete for the same block of liberal voters.
As I noted last week, the zero-sum assumption is true if — and only if — everyone votes. But not everyone votes. The turnout of registered voters in Montana is around 70 percent in presidential elections, and around 50 percent in midterms. If the Green Party is kicked off the ballot, its voters are not likely to vote for the Democrat. Instead, they’re likely to not vote, to vote for another third party candidate, to cast a write-in vote, or even, out of spite, to vote for the Republican. For some reason, both Democrats and Republicans have an extremely difficult time understanding this.
The case will not be decided today, and probably not until after the 5 June primary. Flathead Memo will follow the case and post reports when there are new developments.
Stapleton’s newsletter
Over the weekend, SecST Stapleton issued a newsletter, which also can be viewed at the SecST’s website, supporting his staff and questioning whether the MDP’s out-of-state attorneys were practicing in Montana without the proper permissions.
Earlier this month, the Montana Democratic Party filed a lawsuit against me in my official capacity as Montana Secretary of State. It wasn’t the first time our office has been sued since my administration took office 16 months ago, but this lawsuit is the most threatening to Montana’s elections and our Office’s mission of promoting democracy.
In essence, the Democrats want the Green Party removed from the statewide ballot. The Green Party was certified by me in March, as ‘ballot eligible’ for the June primary election. Since Montana has an ‘open’ primary, this means voters will receive a Green Party ballot along with a Republican and Democrat ballot. Then in November, depending on the contest, voters could see up to five different party choices on the single general election ballot (Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent, Green).
After the deadline for doing so, the Democrats are now wanting to challenge the Green Party petition signatures which were submitted to our local election administrators. These signatures were verified by the election administrators and certified by my Office. This is how the Greens got on the ballot. The Democrats want to selectively override the expertise of our county election administrators, by removing a couple hundred petition signatures, but adding back none of the thousands of signatures which were not included by the clerks for certification.
Not one signature has been accused of forgery. Even the Democrats’ own witnesses testify they want the Green Party on the ballot. This is a lawsuit in search of an injury.
To help justify their lawsuit, the Democrats cite signature gathering activities connected to a “for-profit, out-of-state-company.” So the Democrats hired a for-profit, out-of-state law firm to annul the Greens. Only problem is, the lawyers from that Seattle firm haven’t passed the Montana bar to practice law here. The Montana Supreme Court has a rule that allows two ‘freebies’ to firms practicing in Montana without being licensed. This is the eighth time, now, this particular law firm has practiced law in Montana without being licensed.
This is nuts.
The lawsuit by the Montana Democratic Party against the Montana Secretary of State to throw the Green Party off the ballot needs to stop! When the Democrats are attacking the verification capabilities of our elections administrators in Cascade, Yellowstone and Lewis and Clark counties, they aren’t just attacking three random clerks. They’re attacking three of our best.
As a reader of our monthly newsletter, please know that our Office will continue to promote and defend democracy. Thank you for all your comments!
Corey Stapleton
Montana Secretary of State