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Committee weighs bill to stop petition signatures from reactivating inactive voters
Summary
Sponsor and election officials told the committee House Bill 179 would prohibit petition signatures from changing an elector’s inactive status to active; tribal representatives and some advocates opposed, saying removing reactivation routes could reduce turnout in rural and Indian Country communities.
Representative Braxton Mitchell, sponsor of House Bill 179, told the House State Administration Committee that the bill would prevent an inactive elector from being moved to the active voter list solely by signing a petition. “This clarifies, again, to regain your active status as a voter, you must fulfill specific things like voting, submitting a formal reactivation form, or provide updated residence information to your local county election administrator,” Mitchell said in his opening.
Nut graf: Backers, including the secretary of state’s office and local county elections administrators, described the bill as a cleanup measure to codify current practice and reduce administrative burden; opponents argued it could create barriers to participation for rural and tribal voters who rely on outreach and petition drives to reengage with the voting process.
Austin James, speaking for Secretary of State Christi Jacobson’s office, described HB179 as “a cleanup bill that we'd expect broad support for,” adding that “Signing a petition has never been grounds ever to move an elector to the active list, in state history.” James said the measure will reduce litigation risk from “creative lawyers” and provide certainty to elections officials.
Opponents included Patrick Yawaki, representing the Blackfeet scribe and several tribes, who said, “Any and all ways to try to get Montana electors engaged with the election process is a win for us. Increasing the participation rate is always a goal of ours. And so, by creating barriers to ensuring that voters are active, is something that is problematic to us.” Bradley Seaman, Missoula County elections administrator, and Connor Fitzpatrick, Lewis and Clark County elections supervisor, testified as informational witnesses and explained current practice: inactive voters are eligible to vote in polling-place elections and counties currently accept signatures from inactive electors for petitions but do not automatically reactivate the voter record.
Seaman described local practice: an inactive voter may appear on election day, update registration information at the polling place and vote a regular ballot. Fitzpatrick explained that when an inactive voter signs a petition, counties currently accept the signature for petition verification but do not reactivate the voter unless the registrant returns a completed voter registration application or otherwise updates their record.
Ending: Representative Mitchell closed by calling HB179 a “straightforward cleanup bill” intended to codify practice after disputes in the summer petition cycle; the committee record shows testimony from state and local election officials as well as tribal representatives expressing differing views on the bill’s potential effect on turnout and administrative clarity.
