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Bill would bar petition signatures from reactivating inactive voters; tribal representative warns of turnout impacts
Summary
Rep. Braxton Mitchell told the State Administration Committee HB179 would clarify that signing an initiative petition will not move an inactive voter onto the active rolls; Secretary of State staff supported the cleanup, while tribal representative Patrick Yawaki said the change could reduce engagement in Indian Country.
Representative Braxton Mitchell opened testimony on House Bill 179, saying the bill would explicitly state that signing a petition for a statewide ballot issue does not reactivate an inactive voter. "This bill simply specifies that signing a petition for a statewide ballot issue will not move an inactive voter to the active list," Mitchell said, describing the measure as a straightforward cleanup to maintain the integrity of voter rolls.
Austin James, speaking on behalf of the Secretary of State’s Office, urged a due pass, calling the bill a clarification that aligns with long-standing practice and would prevent "creative lawyer" arguments that surfaced during the last cycle. "Signing a petition has never been grounds ever to move an elector to the active list in state history," James said.
Amelia Gilsdorf of the Opportunity Solutions Project also supported the bill as a transparency and process fix.
Patrick Yawaki, testifying for the Blackfeet, Chippewa Cree, Rocky Boy and Fort Belknap communities, opposed HB179. Yawaki told the committee that measures making it harder to count informal contacts as engagement risk lowering participation in rural and Indian Country communities, where distance and limited internet access already pose barriers. "Increasing the participation rate is always a goal of ours," he said, asking members to oppose the bill.
County elections officials provided technical context. Bradley Seaman (Missoula County) and Connor Fitzpatrick (Lewis and Clark County) explained that under current Montana practice inactive voters remain eligible to vote in-person on election day but typically are not mailed ballots in all-mail elections; counties accept signatures from inactive voters for petition purposes but do not automatically reactivate those voters without a formal update or reactivation form. Fitzpatrick said petition signatures from inactive voters are accepted and verified using the same signature-comparison process used for absentee ballots.
The committee closed the hearing after questions about county procedures and the practical effects of the clarifying language.
What happens next: HB179 closes the public hearing; committee members will consider amendments or take further action consistent with committee procedures.
