On September 25th, 2020, a Montana Court Permanently Struck Down a State Law that Severely Restricted the Right-to-Vote for Indigenous People living on Rural Reservations.
Western Native Voice v. Stapleton, filed in March 2020, by: Native American Rights Fund; the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); and ACLU of Montana, Challenged the so-called Montana Ballot Interference Prevention Act (BIPA), a Law that Imposed Severe Restrictions on Ballot Collection Efforts that are Critical to Native American Voters living on Rural Reservations.
The Law set an Arbitrary Limit on the Number of Ballots an Individual could Collect and also Restricted the Categories of Individuals who were Permitted to Collect Ballots.
BIPA was introduced in the 2017 Montana Legislature with an asserted purpose of protecting election integrity and instilling voter confidence in the election process. The bill’s sponsor said during legislative committee hearings that he had brought the bill because of voters’ suspicions and concerns he had received over ballot-collection activity. The bill received no public testimony in support but significant testimony in opposition. No one testified to specific instances of voter fraud or ballot tampering. BIPA passed both houses of the Legislature, and Montana voters approved it as a legislative referendum on November 6, 2018. It has not yet been in effect for a statewide general election. Under BIPA’s provisions, absentee ballots, voted or unvoted, may be collected from individual voters only by certain persons, including election officials, postal workers, or the voter’s family members, household members, caregivers, or acquaintances.
These Limitations were intended to Suppress Turnout on Rural Reservations, where Geographic and Socioeconomic Barriers to Voting make Ballot Collection even more Critical.
Then, the State Supreme Court Struck Down the Law as to All Voters in a Case brought by the Democratic Party.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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