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Committee hears bill to add party-preference field to Montana voter registration
Summary
Senate Bill 129 would allow electors to record a political party preference on voter-registration records; supporters call it a First Amendment ‘‘freedom of association’’ measure while tribal and elections officials warned of administrative and privacy burdens. The committee held a public hearing but took no formal vote.
Senator Jeremy Trevis of Great Falls, sponsor of Senate Bill 129, told the Senate State Administration Committee that the bill would allow Montana electors to add a political party preference to their voter registration records.
Trevis said the proposal is rooted in the First Amendment. "In my mind, this is a freedom of association bill under the First Amendment," he told the committee as he walked members through the bill's changes to statewide and local voter lists and the precinct register.
The bill would add an optional field on registration forms listing party choices (and allow an option to decline to state a preference), and would create a new column in…
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