Montana C-46, Initiated Amendment Distribution Requirements Measure (2020)

Montana C-46
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Direct democracy measures
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature
List of Montana measuresMontana LR-130Montana C-46Montana C-47Montana CI-118Montana I-190Submit

Montana C-46, the Initiated Amendment Distribution Requirements Measure, was on the ballot in Montana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending constitutional language to match the existing signature distribution requirements for initiated constitutional amendments.

A "no" vote opposed amending constitutional language to match the existing signature distribution requirements for initiated constitutional amendments, thereby keeping unenforced, county-based signature distribution requirements in the language of the constitution.

Election results

Montana C-46
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		426,279	76.87%
No		128,295	23.13%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did Montana C-46 do?

See also: Signature requirements for ballot measures in Montana, Distribution requirement, and Laws governing the initiative process in Montana

C-46 did not alter existing initiative signature distribution requirements, but amended constitutional language to match the existing signature distribution requirements for initiated constitutional amendments. For an initiated constitutional amendment in Montana, proponents must collect signatures equal to 10 percent of the qualified electors in each of two-fifths (40) of the state's 100 legislative districts.

A distribution requirement is a statutory or constitutional mandate requiring that petitions for a ballot measure or candidate nomination must be signed by voters from different political subdivisions in order for the ballot measure or candidate to qualify for the ballot.

Why was this amendment on the ballot?

This amendment, along with a similar amendment regarding statutory initiative petitions, were on the ballot to amend language in the state constitution to match the currently enforced signature distribution requirements.

The signature distribution requirements for initiated state statutes, veto referendums, and initiated constitutional amendments were changed in the state constitution with the passage of two voter-approved constitutional amendments, C-37 and C-38, in 2002. C-37 changed the requirement for initiated constitutional amendments to 10% of qualified electors in at least half of Montana's counties, rather than in two-fifths of the legislative districts. C-38 changed the signature requirement for initiated state statutes to 5% of qualified electors in at least half of Montana's counties, rather than in one-third of the legislative districts.

The amendments were later ruled unconstitutional and the original distribution requirements were re-enforced, but the invalidated language remained in the state constitution. These 2020 amendments would remove the invalidated language from the state constitution and replace it with language to match the currently enforced signature distribution requirements for initiatives in Montana.

At the time of the election, the following signature distribution requirements were enforced:

• initiated constitutional amendments: 10% of qualified electors in each of two-fifths (40) of the state's 100 legislative districts.
• initiated state statutes or veto referendums: 5% of qualified electors in each of one-third (34) of the state's 100 legislative districts.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot language for C-46 is below.

“

An act submitting to the qualified electors of Montana an amendment to Article XIV, Section 9, of the Montana Constitution to revise the method of qualifying a constitutional amendment by initiative for the ballot; and providing an effective date. [] YES on Constitutional Amendment 46 [] NO on Constitutional Amendment 46

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article XIV, Montana Constitution

C-46 amended section 9 of Article XIV of the state constitution. The following underlined text was added, and struck-through text was deleted: Note: Use your mouse to scroll over the text below to see the full text.

Section 1. Article XIV, section 9, of The Constitution of the State of Montana is amended to read:

Section 9. Amendment by initiative. (1) The people may also propose constitutional amendments by initiative. Petitions including the full text of the proposed amendment shall be signed by at least ten percent of the qualified electors of the state. That number shall include at least ten percent of the qualified electors in each of at least one-half of the counties two-fifths of the legislative districts.

(2) The petitions shall be filed with the secretary of state. If the petitions are found to have been signed by the required number of electors, the secretary of state shall cause the amendment to be published as provided by law twice each month for two months previous to the next regular state-wide election.

(3) At that election, the proposed amendment shall be submitted to the qualified electors for approval or rejection. If approved by a majority voting thereon, it shall become a part of the constitution effective the first day of July following its approval, unless the amendment provides otherwise.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2020

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 15, and the FRE is 18. The word count for the ballot title is 46, and the estimated reading time is 12 seconds.

Support

If you are aware of any supporters or supporting arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Supporters

Officials

• State Senator Bryce Bennett (D)
• State Representative Steve Gunderson (R)

Official arguments

Montana State Senator Bryce Bennett (D) and Montana State Representative Steve Gunderson (R) submitted the following arguments to the Montana Voter Information Pamphlet in support of the measure:

“

Constitutional Amendments 46 and 47 are simple, clean-up efforts to remove language that was struck down by Montana’s courts 15 years ago. These amendments provide no substantive changes to our constitution but will ensure that when people read it - they get accurate information. In 2002, voters approved constitutional amendments 37 and 38, which attempted to change the steps in how Montanans can collect signatures and place ballot initiatives before voters. The largest proposed change to the process was changing the units to qualify from legislative districts to counties. The amendments were quickly found to be unconstitutional by a U.S. District Court on equal protection grounds and we reverted to the previous way we had been qualifying initiatives for generations. Without a vote of the people, however, inaccurate information will remain in the constitution to confuse Montanans. In 2019, the Montana Legislature came together in a broad, bipartisan effort to fix this oversight and ensure that everyone who reads Montana’s incredible constitution gets accurate information. It is important to all of us that our constitution be a resource and learning tool for all Montanans. When people want to put an initiative before the people they should not be getting inaccurate information from our constitution and correct information from a government agency. When our kids learn about Montana’s Constitution in their classroom they should learn how the process actually works, not old incorrect language that we just did not bother to change. Constitutional Amendments 46 and 47 are not an effort to adopt policy or change anything about how the constitution affects the lives of Montanans today. These good government amendments simply attempt to clean up obsolete language and give our neighbors a constitution that says what it means and means what it says. Vote YES for Constitutional Amendments 46 and 47.

”

Opposition

If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Opponents

Officials

• State Senator John Esp (R)
• State Senator Tom Jacobson (D)
• State Senator Gordon Vance (R)

Official arguments

There were no official arguments in opposition to the measure in the Montana Voter Information Pamphlet.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Montana ballot measures

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$0.00
Opposition:	$0.00

Ballotpedia did not identify any committees registered in support of or in opposition to C-46.

If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose C-46, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Amendments C-37 and C-38 of 2002

In 2002, two voter-approved constitutional amendments, C-37 and C-38, attempted to change the basis for the ballot initiative distribution requirement in Montana from legislative districts to counties. C-37 changed the requirement for initiated constitutional amendments to 10% of qualified electors in at least half of Montana's counties, rather than in two-fifths of the legislative districts. C-38 changed the signature requirement for initiated state statutes to 5% of qualified electors in at least half of Montana's counties, rather than in one-third of the legislative districts. However, given population disparities among counties, the amendments were found by a U.S. District Court to be unconstitutional on equal protection grounds in Montana PIRG v. Johnson. Attorney General Mike McGrath subsequently ruled that the federal court's invalidation of C-37 and C-38 meant that the prior language of the state's constitution about distribution requirements based on legislative districts for citizen initiatives was considered to be fully back in force. The language from C-37 and C-38 concerning county-based distribution requirements, however, remained in the state constitution.

Direct democracy measures, 2020

See also: Direct democracy measures on the ballot

Five measures that were designed to change the state's laws governing citizen initiatives or other ballot measures were on the ballot in four states for the election on November 3, 2020. The measures included questions about a state's initiative and referendum process, signature gathering requirements, constitutional amendment requirements, and other topics. Click [show] to read more about direct democracy measures in 2020.

Direct democracy measures, 2020

A legislatively referred constitutional amendment on the ballot in Arkansas would have changed many aspects of the state's initiative process including increasing the signature distribution requirement, shortening the signature deadline, eliminating the current opportunity proponents have to collect additional signatures if they fall short. The amendment would also have changed the size of the vote required of the state legislature to refer constitutional amendments to voters from a simple majority to a three-fifths (60%) supermajority vote requirement. The measure was defeated. Voters in two states, North Dakota and Florida, rejected measures that would have required approval at two consecutive elections for constitutional amendments to be ratified. Two direct democracy measures on the ballot in Montana that were referred by the state legislature were approved. They did not change the state's initiative distribution requirements but rather amended the state constitution's language to match the distribution requirements that were currently enforced. 2020 direct democracy measures on the ballot: Ballot Measure: Status: Montana C-47, Initiated Statute and Referendum Distribution Requirements Amendment Approved Florida Amendment 4, Require Constitutional Amendments to be Passed Twice Initiative Defeated Click here to read about changes to laws governing ballot measures in 2019 and here to read about changes to laws governing ballot measures in 2020.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Montana Constitution

C-46 was introduced as House Bill 244 on January 18, 2019, by Rep. Steve Gunderson (R-1). On January 31, 2019, the House passed the bill in a vote of 61 to 38. Since the amendment must be adopted by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of all members of the legislature, 39 yes votes were required from the Senate for this measure to pass and secure a place on the ballot. The measure passed in the Senate on April 3, 2019, in a vote of 46-3 with one Republican Senator, Jennifer Fielder not voting. The three no votes came from Republicans John Esp and Gordon Vance and Democrat Tom Jacobson.

Vote in the Montana House of Representatives January 31, 2019
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members of the legislature as a whole, whether in a joint session or separate sessions
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	61	38	1
Total percent	60%	39%	1%
Democrat	6	36	0
Republican	55	2	1

Vote in the Montana State Senate April 3, 2019
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members of the legislature as a whole, whether in a joint session or separate sessions
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	46	3	1
Total percent	92%	6%	2%
Democrat	19	1	0
Republican	27	2	1

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Montana

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Montana.

How to cast a vote in Montana

The information below covers regular voting policies in the state. Information may have not applied to the election on November 3, 2020, because of temporary changes in response to coronavirus. Click here to read about changes made for the 2020 elections. Poll times In Montana, polling place hours vary throughout the state. Most polling places open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m., although in areas with fewer than 400 registered voters, polling places may open as late as 12:00 p.m. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration requirements Check your voter registration status here. To register to vote in Montana, each applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of Montana for at least 30 days prior to the election, and at least 18 years old by the day of the election. People serving a felony sentence in a penal institution and those who have been declared by a court to be of unsound mind are not eligible to vote. Citizens can register to vote in person by completing a registration application at their county election office. They can register by mailing the application to their county election administrator or submitting it when applying for or renewing a driver’s license or state ID. Citizens may also register to vote at their county election offices, certain designated locations, or at their designated polling location on Election Day. Automatic registration Montana does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Montana does not permit online voter registration. Same-day registration Montana allows same-day voter registration. Residency requirements In order to register to vote in Montana, applicants must have lived in the state for at least 30 days prior to the election. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Montana does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury. All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. As of January 2025, six states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, and New Hampshire — had passed laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration. However, only two of those states' laws were in effect, in Arizona and New Hampshire. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections as of November 2024. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The site My Voter Page, run by the Montana secretary of state’s office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online. Voter ID requirements Montana requires voters to present identification while voting. Montana's voter identification requirements are outlined in Section 13-13-114 of Montana Code, as amended when SB 169 was signed into law on April 19, 2021. The law states, "Before an elector is permitted to receive a ballot or vote, the elector shall present to an election judge one of the following forms of identification showing the elector's name:" “ (i) Montana driver's license, Montana state identification card issued pursuant to 61-12-501, military identification card, tribal photo identification card., United States passport, or Montana concealed carry permit; or (ii) (A) a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or other government document that shows the elector's name and current address; and (B) photo identification that shows the elector's name, including but not limited to a school district or postsecondary education photo identification. ” On March 27, 2024, the Montana Supreme Court ruled that the portion of SB 169 that precluded the use of student ID for voter identification was unconstitutional. See here for more.

See also

2020 measures

• 2020 ballot measures
• Direct democracy measures on the ballot

Montana

• Montana ballot measures
• Montana ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• House Bill 244
• Montana Voter Information Pamphlet