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Senate bill would extend electioneering buffer to 100 feet from the line; counties warn drive-through voting complicates enforcement
Summary
Sen. Mike Yakovich's SB 281 would make it illegal to campaign within 100 feet of a voter line. County clerks and the Commissioner of Political Practices described enforcement challenges for drive-through ballot lines and late registration, and the sponsor signaled openness to a carve-out for vehicle voting.
Senator Mike Yakovich (YAKAWICH) presented Senate Bill 281 to establish a 100-foot prohibition on electioneering measured from the voter line rather than from a static point at the door.
"This bill is talking about a hundred feet from the line," Yakovich told the committee, framing the change as an effort to keep voters in line free from last-minute solicitation and confusion.
Proponents supported the concept. Patrick Yawaki, speaking for several tribal communities, said SB 281 "keeps reasonable distance to not unlawfully influence a Montana elector's vote right before a ballot is cast." The sponsor said he was open to a friendly amendment to exempt vehicle voting.
Informational witnesses and county clerks raised practical concerns. Regina Plattenberg, Montana Association of County Clerks and Recorders, said the existing statute contemplates election day activity but counties now have multiple pre-election lines — late registration, absentee voting and drive-through ballot-drop or curbside voting — that do not fit neatly into a single static 100-foot buffer.
Shelley Hendrickson Scott of the Commissioner of Political Practices explained the office enforces electioneering rules but warned that a fluid "line" that extends into streets or parking areas complicates enforcement.
County clerks said crowd control and enforcement costs currently come from county budgets: "Unless you want to give us more money, it's going to come out of our budget," Regina Plattenberg said. Clerks also noted the bill would require outreach to voters and training for judges to manage shifting lines.
Committee members pressed about definitions and enforcement. The sponsor said the bill was intended to be practical and fair across jurisdictions; Yakovich told the committee he would accept a friendly amendment to exempt vehicle voting if the committee preferred.
No committee vote was taken; the hearing closed with questions and an invitation for amendments.
Why it matters: The measure shifts the measurement point for electioneering protections from fixed polling locations to the moving voter line, which changes enforcement calculus in counties that run drive-through or off-site ballot stations.
What’s next: Sponsor invited friendly amendments (including a possible vehicle-voting carve-out) and the committee will consider proposed language before any vote.
