U196 — 6M — 9-40
LIBRARY
ELEASLBEHJRN
Helena, Montana 59601
Montana Slate Library
3 0864 1004 2456 6
STATE_DOCyMENTS
.Cection
tAWS
OF THE
STATE OF MONTANA
1936
93946
Arranged and Compiled from Revised
Codes of Montana of 1921, as
Amended by Laws of
1923-1935 Inclusive
Published by
Sam W. Mitchell, Secretary of State
Helena, Montana
May, 1936
NAEGELE PRINTING CO., HELENA, MONT.
A
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
To the Electors of the State of Montana :
Under Section 807, Revised Codes of the State of Montana, 1921,
"It is the duty of the Secretary of State to cause to be published, in
pamphlet form, a sufficient number of copies of election laws, and such
other provisions of law as bear upon the subject of elections, and to
transmit the proper number to each County Clerk, whose duty it is to
furnish each election officer in his county with one of such copies." In
obedience to the above mandate, and that contained in Section 10778,
I have caused to be prepared what is believed to be a complete com-
pilation of all laws dealing with State, County, City and School Dis-
trict elections found in the Revised Codes of 1921, as amended.
SAM W. MITCHELL,
Secretary of State.
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
Contents
Page
Abatement of Smoke Nuisance 180-181
Apportionment and Representation 18-20
Ballots, Preparation and Form 67-70
Bond Issue and Tax Levy for Bridge Construction 156
Bonding Fire Districts in Unincorporated Towns 17:5-17-")
Bond Issue, Restrained 214
Bond Issues 156-159
Borrowing Money 159-161
Bridges, Bonds 137
(ilies and Towns — Officers and Elections 165-168
Classification and Organization of Cities and Towns 16)5-165
Commission Form of Government for Cities 182-193
Commission-Manager Form of Government for
Cities and Towns 193-210
Conduct of Elections 70-75
Constitutional Provisions 7-17
( lontesting Elections 108
Corrupt Practices Act 220-2:56
Counties, ( 'real ion of New 144-155
County Seals, Location of 139-144
County Seat, Removal 137-139
Crimes Against Elective Franchise 214-220
Delegates to National Convention 102-1015
Disqualification and Restrictions upon Residence
of Officers 25
District Judges, Election of 213
Duties of County Commissioners Relative to Elections 155-156
Elction —
Precincts 27
Proclamations 25
Returns 90-96
Supplies 4:5-46
Failure of Elections 96-97
Fees for Candidates for Mayor and Couneilmen 193
Floating Indebtedness of Counties 159
Free Public Librairies 168
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 5
Page
Government of Counties 161-162
Indebtedness of Cities or Towns — Bonds 175-180
Initiative and Referendum 20-25
Initiative and Referendum in Cities and Towns 169-172
Judges and Clerks of Election 42-43
Judicial Districts 212-213
Judicial Officers 211-212
Justices of Peace 213
Managerial Form of County Government 162
Members of Congress — Elections and Vacancies 104
Municipal Contracts and Franchises 172-173
Municipal Courts 173
Nomination of Candidates by Convention and Petition.... 46-50
Nomination of Candidates — Direct Primary 51-67
Non-partisan Election of Judges 97-100
Presidential Electors 101-103
Publication of Measures Submitted to Popular Vote 26
Qualifications and Disabilities of Electors 26
Qualification of Electors to Vote on Increase
of Municipal Indebtedness 211
Recount of Votes 104-108
Registration of Electors 28-42
Road Districts 136-137
School Budget System 135
School District Bonds 125-130
School Districts, Consolidation 113-123
School, High, Code 130-131
School Matters 108-113
Schools, Abolishment of High 131-135
School Taxation 123-124
Time of Holding Elections 25
Voting by Absent Electors 75-82
Voting by Machines 82-90
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 7
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE III
A Declaration of Rights of the People of the State of Montana
Section *_'. The people of the state have the solo and exclusive right
of governing themselves, as a free, sovereign, and independent state,
and to alter and abolish their constitution and form of government,
whenever they may deem it necessary to their safety and happiness.
provided such change he not repugnant to the constitution of the
United States.
Section 5. All elections shall he free and open, and no power, civil
or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of
the righl of suffrage.
ARTICLE V
Legislative Department
Section 1. The legislative authority of the state shall he vested in
a legislative assembly, consisting of a senate and house of representa-
tives; but the people reserve to themselves power to propose laws, and
to enact or reject the same at the polls, except as to laws relating to
appropriations of money, and except as to laws for the submission of
constitutional amendments, and except as to local or special laws, as
enumerated in article V, section 26, of this constitution, independent of
the legislative assembly; and also reserve power, at their own option,
to approve or reject at the polls, any act of the legislative assembly,
except as to laws necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health, or safety, and except as to laws relating to appropria-
tions of money, and except as to laws for the submission of constitu-
tional amendments, and except as to local or special laws, as enumerated
in article V, section 26, of this constitution. The first power reserved
by the people is the initiative and eight per cent, of the legal Alters of
the state shall be required to propose any measure by petition ; Provided,
That two-fifths of the whole number of the counties of the state must
each furnish as signers of said petition eight per cent of the legal voters
in such county, and every such petition shall include the full text of the
measure so proposed. Initiative petitions shall be filed with the secretary
of state, not less than four months before the election at which they are
to be voted upon.
The second power is the referendum, and it may be ordered either
by petition signed by five per cent of the legal voters of the state, pro-
vided that two-fifths of the whole number of the counties of the state
must each furnish as signers of said petition five per cent of the legal
voters in such county, or, by the legislative assembly as other bills are
enacted.
Referendum petitions shall be filed with the secretary of state, not
later than six months after the final adjournment of the session of the
legislative assembly which passed the bill on which the referendum is
8 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
demanded. The veto power of the governor shall not extend to measures
referred to the people by the Legislative assembly or by initiative refer-
endum petitions.
All elections in measures referred to the people of the state shall he
had at the biennial regular general election, except when the legislative
assmbly, by a majority vote, shall order a special election. Any meas-
ure referred to the people shall still be in full force and effect unless
such petition he signed by fifteen per cent of the legal voters of a
majority of the whole number of the counties of the state, in which
case the law shall be inoperative until such time as it shall he passed
upon at an election, and the result has been determined and declared as
provided by law. The whole number of votes cast for governor at the
regular election last preceding the filing of any petition for the initia-
tive or referendum shall he the basis on which the number of the legal
petitions and orders for the initiative and for the referendum shall 1*'
filed with the secretary of state; and in submitting the same to the
people, he, and all other officers, shall he guided by the general laws
and the act submitting this amendment, until legislation shall be especi-
ally provided therefor. The enacting clause of every law originated by
the initiative shall be as follows :
"Be it enacted by the people of Montana."
This section shall not be construed to deprive any member of tin-
legislative assembly of the right to introduce any measure.
Section 2. Senators shall he elected for the term of four years, and
repi-esentatives for the term of two years, except as otherwise provided
in this constitution.
Section 3. No person shall ho a representative who shall not have
attained the age of twenty-one years, or a senator who shall not ha v.'
attained the age of twenty-four years, and who shall not be a citizen
of the United States, and who shall not (for at least twelve months
next preceding his election) have resided within the county or district
in which he shall he elected.
Section 4. The legislative assembly of this state, until otherwise
provided by law, shall consist of sixteen members of the senate, and
fifty-five members of the house of representatives.
It shall be the duty of the first legislative assembly to divide the
state Into senatorial and representative districts, hut there shall be no
more than one senator from each county. The senators shall be divided
Into two classes. Those elected from odd-numbered districts shall con-
stitute one class, and those elected from even-numbered districts shall
Constitute the other class; and when any additional senator shall be
provided for by law, his class shall be determined by lot.
One-half of the senators elected to the first legislative assembly
shall hold office for one year, and the other half for three years; and
it shall be determined by lot, Immediately after the organization of the
senate, whether the senators from the odd or even-numbered districts
shall hold for one or three years.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 9
Section 26. The legislative assembly shall no! pass local or special
laws in any of the following enumerated cases, thai Is to say: For
granting divorces; laying out, opening, altering or working roads or
highways; vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys or public grounds;
locating or changing county scats: regulating county or township affairs:
regulating the practice in courts of justice; regulating the jurisdiction
and duties of justices of the peace, police magistrates or constables:
changing the rules of evidence in any trial or inquiry; providing for
changes of venue in civil or criminal cases : declaring any person of
age : for limitation of civil actions, or giving effect to informal or in-
valid deeds: summoning or impaneling grand or petit juries; providing
for the management of common schools ; regulating the rate of interest
on money ; the opening or conducting of any election or designating the
place of voting: the sale or mortgage of real estate belonging to minors
or others under disability ; chartering or licensing ferries or bridges or
toll roads; chartering banks, insurance companies and loan and trust
companies ; remitting fines, penalties or forfeitures ; creating, increas-
ing or decreasing fees, percentages or anoyances of public officers ;
changing the law of descent; granting to any corporation, association or
individual the right to lay down railroad tracks, or any special or
exclusive privilege, immunity or franchise whatever : for the punishment
of crimes; changing the names of persons or places: for the assessment
or collection of taxes ; affecting estates of deceased persons, minors or
others under legal disabilities ; extending the time for the collection of
taxes ; refunding money paid into the state treasury ; relinquishing or
extinguishing in whole or in part the indebtedness, liability or obligation
of any corporation or person to this state, or to any municipal corpora-
tion therein ; exempting property from taxation : restoring to citizenship
persons convicted of infamous crimes; authorizing the creation, exten-
sion or impairing of liens; creating offices, or prescribing the powers or
duties of officers in counties, cities, township or school districts; or au-
thorizing the adoption or legitimation of children. In all other cases
where a general law can be made applicable, no special law shall be
enacted.
Section 45. When vacancies occur in either house the governor
or the person exercising the functions of governor shall issue writs
of election to fill the same.
ARTICLE VI
Appointment and Representation
Section 1. One representative in the congress of the United States
shall be elected from the state at large, the first Tuesday in October.
1889, and thereafter at such times and places, and in such manner as
may be prescribed by law. When a new appointment shall be made
by congress the legislative assembly shall divide the state into con-
gressional districts accordingly.
Section 2. The legislative assembly shall provide by law for an
enumeration of the inhabitants of the state in the year 1S95, and every
10 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
tenth year thereafter; and al the session next following such enumera-
tion, and also at the session next following an enumeration made by
the authority of the United States, shall revise and adjust the appor-
tionment for representatives on the hasis of such enumeration accord-
ing to ratios to Ik' fixed by law.
Section 3. Representative districts may he altered from time to
time as public convenience may require. When a representative district
shall he composed of two or more counties, they shall be Contiguous,
and the districts as compact as may he. No county shall he divided in
the formation of representative districts.
Section 4. Whenever new counties are created, each of said coun-
ties shall be entitled to one senator, hut in no case shall a senatorial
district consist id' more than one county.
ARTICLE VII
Executive Department
Section 1. The executive department shall consist of a governor,
lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer,
state auditor and superintendent of public instruction, each of whom
shall hold his office for four years, or until his successor is elected
and qualified, beginning on the first. Monday of January next succeed-
ing his election, except that the terms of office of those who are
elected at the first election, shall begin when the state shall he ad-
mitted into the Union, and shall end on the first Monday id' January,
A. D. 1893. The officers of the executive department, excepting the
lieutenant-governor, shall during their terms of office reside at the seat
of government, where they shall keep the public records, hooks and
papers. They shall perform such duties as are prescribed in this con-
stitution and by the laws of the state. The state treasurer shall not
he (digible to his office for the succeeding term.
Section 2. The officers provided for in section 1 of this article.
Shall be elected by the qualified electors of the state at the time and
place of voting for members of the legislative assemhly, and tlie persons
respectively, having the highest number of votes for the office voted
for shall he elected: hut if two or more shall have an equal and the
highest number of votes for any one of said offices, the two houses of
the Legislative assembly, at its next regular session, shall forthwith by
joint ballot, elect one of such persons for said office. The returns of
election for the officers named in section 1 shall he made in such manner
as may he prescribed by law, and all contested elections of the same.
other than provided for in this section, shall he determined as may he
prescribed by law.
Section '■'>. No person shall he eligible to the office of governor,
lieutenant-governor, or superintendent of puhlic instruction, unless he
shall have attained the age of thirty years at the time of his election.
nor to the office of secretary of state, state auditor, or state treasurer,
unless he shall have attained the age of twenty-five years, nor to the
office of attorney-general unless he shall have attained I lie age of
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 11
thirty years, and have been admitted to practice in the supreme court
Of the stale, or territory of Montana, and lie in good Standing at the
lime of his election, in addition to the qualifications above prescribed,
each of the Officers named shall be a citizen of the United States, and
have resided within the state or territory two years next preceding
his election.
ARTICUC VIII
Judicial Departments
Section (5. The justices of the supreme court shall he elected by
the electors of the state at large, as hereinafter provided.
Section 7. The term of office of the justices of the supreme court,
except as in this constitution otherwise provided, shall be six years.
Section 8. There shall he elected at the first general election, pro-
vided for by this constitution, one chief justice and two associate jus-
tices of the supreme court. At said first election the chief justice shall
be elected to hold his office until the general election in the year one
thousand eight hundred ninety-two (1892), and one of the associate
justices to hold office until the general election in the year one thousand
eight hundred ninety-four (1894), and the other associate justice to hold
his office until the general election in the year one thousand eight
hundred ninety-six (1896), and each shall hold until his successor is
elected and qualified. The terms of office of said justices, and which
one shall be chief justice, shall at the first and all subseqent elections
be designated by ballot. After said first election one chief justice or
one associate justice shall be elected at the general election every two
years, commencing in the year one thousand eight hundred ninety-two
(1892), and if the legislative assembly shall increase the number of
justices to five, the first terms of office of such additional justices shall
be fixed by law in such manner that at least one of the five justices
shall be elected every two years. The chief justice shall preside at
all sessions of the supreme court, and in case of his ahsence, the asso-
ciate justice having the shortest term to serve shall preside in his stead.
Section 9. There shall he a clerk of the supreme court, who shall
hold his office for the term of six years, except that the clerk first
elected shall hold his office only until the general election in the year
one thousand eight hundred ninety-two (1892), and until his successor
is elected and qualified. He shall be elected by the electors at large of
the state, and his compensation shall be fixed by law. and his duties
prescribed by law, and by the rules of the supreme court.
Section 10. No person shall be eligible to the office of justice of
the supreme court, unless he shall have been admitted to practice law
in the supreme court of the territory or state of Montana, be at least
thirty years of age, and a citizen of the United States, nor unless he
shall have resided in said territory or state at least two years next
preceding his election.
District Courts
Section 12. The state shall be divided into judicial districts, in
each of which there shall be elected by the electors thereof one judge
12 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
of the district court, whose term of office shall he four years, except
that the district judges first elected shall hold their offices only until
the general election in the year one thousand eight hundred ninety-two
(1892), and until their successors are elected and qualified. Any judge
of the district court, may hold court for any other district judge, and
shall do so when required by law.
Section 13. Until otherwise provided by law judicial districts of
the state shall he constituted as follows: First district, Lewis and
Clark county; Second district. Silver Bow county; Third district, Deer
Lodge county; Fourth district, Missoula county; Fifth district. Leaver-
head. Jefferson and Madison counties; Sixth district, Gallatin. Park
and Meagher counties; seventh district, Yellowstone, Custer and Daw-
son counties; Eighth district. Choteau, Cascade and Fergus counties.
Section 18. There shall t>e a clerk of the district court in each
county, who shall he elected by the electors of his county. The clerk-
shall he elected at the same time and for the same term as the district
judge. The duties and compensation of the said clerk shall he as pro-
vided by law.
County Attorneys
Section 1!>. There shall be elected at the general election in each
county of the state one county attorney, whose qualifications shall he
the same as are required for a judge of the district court, except that
he must be over twenty-one years of age, hut need not be twenty-five
years of age, and whose tenn of office shall he two years, except that
the county attorneys first elected shall hold their offices until the
general election in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-
two (1892), and until their successors are elected and qualified. He
shall have a salary to he fixed by law, one-half of which shall he paid
by the state, and the other half by the county for which he is elected,
and he shall perform such duties as may be required by law.
Justices of the Peace
Section 20. There shall he elected in each organized township of
each county by the electors of such township at least two justices of
the peace, who shall hold their offices, except as otherwise provided in
this constitution, for the term of two years. Justices' courts shall have
such original jurisdiction within their respective counties as may be
prescribed by law, except as in this constitution otherwise provided;
Provided, That they shall not have jurisdiction in any case where the
debt, damage, claim or value of the property involved exceeds the sum
of three hundred dollars.
Section 34. Vacancies in the office of justice of the supreme court,
or judge of the district court, or clerk of the supreme court, shall be
filled by appointment, by the governor of the state, and vacancies in
the offices of county attorney, clerk of the district court, and justices
of the peace, shall he filled by appointment, by the board of county
commissioners of the county where such vacancy occurs. A person ap-
pointed to fill any such vacancy shall hold his office until the next
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 13
general election and until his successor is elected and qualified. A per-
son elected to till ;i vacancy shall hold office until the expiration of
the term for Which the person he succeeds was elected.
ARTICLE IX
Rights of Suffrage and Qualifications to Hold Office
Section 1. All elections by the people shall be by ballot.
Section 2. Every person of the age of twenty-one years or over,
possessing the following qualifications, shall be entitled to vote at all
general elections and for all officers that now are. or hereafter may
he, elective by the people and upon all questions which may be sub-
mitted to the vote of the people : First, he shall be a citizen of the
United States, second, he shall have resided in this state one year
immediately preceding the election at which he offers to vote, and in
the town, county or precinct such time as may he prescribed by law :
Provided, First, that no person convicted of felony shall have the right
to vote imloss he has been pardoned: Provided, Second, that nothing
herein contained shall be construed to deprive any person of the right
to vote who has such right at the time of the adoption of this constitu-
tion; Provided, That after the expiration of five years from the time of
the adoption of this constitution, no person except citizens of the United
States shall have the right to vote.
Section 3. For the purpose of voting no person shall be deemed to
have gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or absence
while employed in the service of the state, or of the United States, nor
while engaged in the navigation of the waters of the state, or of the
United States, nor while a student at any institution of learning, nor
while kept at any almshouse or other asylum at the public expense.
nor while confined in any public prison.
Section 4. Electors shall in all cases, except treason, felony or
breach of peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at
elections and in going to and returning therefrom.
Section 5. No elector shall be obliged to perform military duty on
the clays of election, except in time of war or public danger.
Section 6. No soldier, seaman or marine in the army or navy of
the United States shall he deemed a resident of this state in conse-
quence of being stationed at any military or naval place within the
same.
Section 7. No person shall be elected or appointed to any office in
this state, civil or military, who is not a citizen of the United States,
and who shall not have resided in this state at least one year next
before his election or appointment.
Section S. No idiot or insane person shall he entitled to vote at
any election in this state.
Section 9. The legislative assembly shall have the power to pass a
registration and such other laws as may be necessary to secure the
purity of elections and guard against abuses of the elective franchise.
14 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
section 10. All persons possessing the qualifications for suffrage
prescribed by section 2 of this article as amended and such other quali-
fications as the Legislative assembly may by law prescribe, shall he
eligible to hold the office of county superintendent of schools or any
other school district office.
Section 11. Any person qualified to vote at general elections and
for state officers in this state, shall be eligible to any office thei'ein
except as otherwise provided in this constitution, and subject to such
additional qualifications as may be prescribed by the legislative as-
sembly for city offices and offices hereafter created.
Section 12. Upon all questions submitted to the vote of the tax-
payers of the state, or any political division thereof, women who are
taxpayers and possessed of the qualifications for the right of suffrage
required of men by this (-(institution, shall equally with men have the
right to vote.
Section 13. In all elections held by the people under this constitu-
tion, the person or persons who shall receive the highest number of
legal votes shall be declared elected.
ARTICLE XI
Education
Section 10. The legislative assembly shall provide that all elections
for school district officers shall be separate from those elections at
which state or county officers are voted for.
ARTICLE XIII
Public Indebtedness
Section 5. No county shall be allowed to become indebted in any
manner, or for any purpose, to ail amount, including existing indebted-
ness in the aggregate, exceeding five (5) per centum of the value of
the taxable property therein, to be ascertained by the last assessment
for state and county taxes previous to the incurring of such indebted-
ness, and all bonds or obligations in excess of such amount given by
or on behalf of such county shall be void. No county shall incur any
indebtedness or liability for any single purpose to an amount exceeding
ten thousand dollars (.$10.(H>0) without the approval id' a majority of
the electors thereof, voting at an election to be provided by law.
Section •">. No City, town, township or school district shall be al-
lowed to become indebted in any manner or for any purpose to an
amount, including existing Indebtedness, in the aggregate exceeding three
(3) per centum of the value of the taxable property therein, to be ascer-
tained by the last assessment for state and county taxes previous to the
Incurring of such indebtedness, and all bonds or obligations in excess
of such amount given by or on behalf of such city. town, township or
school district shall be void; Provided, however. That the legislative
assembly may extend the limit mentioned in this section, by authoriz-
ing municipal corporations to submit the question to a vote of the
taxpayers affected thereby, when such increase is necessary to construct
a sewerage system or to procure a supply of water for such munici-
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 16
pallty which shall own and control said water supply and devote the
revenues derived therefrom to the payment of the debt.
ARTICLE XVI
Municipal Corporations and Officers
Section 2. The legislative assembly shall have qo power to remove
the county seat of any county, but the same shall be provided for by
general law: and no county scat shall be removed unless a majority
of the qualified electors of the county, at a general election on a propo-
situs to remove the county seat, shall vote therefor; but no such
proposition shall be submitted oftener than once in four years.
Section 4. In each county there shall be elected three County Com-
missioners, whose term of office shall be six years; provided that
each county in the State of Montana shall be divided into three Com-
missioner Districts, to be designated as Commissioner Districts, numbers
one. two and three, respectively.
The board of County Commissioners shall in every county in the
State of Montana, at their regular session, on the first Monday in
May. 1929, or as soon thereafter as convenient or possible, not exceed-
ing sixty days thereafter, meet and by and under the direction of the
District Court Judge or Judges of said county, divide their respective
counties into three Commissioner Districts as compact and equal in
population and area as possible, and number them respectively, one
two and three, and when such division has been made, there shall be
tiled in the office of the County Clerk and Recorder of such county a
certificate designating the metes and bounds of the boundary lines and
limits of each of said Commissioners Districts, which certificate shall
be signed by said Judge or Judges; provided, also, that at the first
regular session of any newly organized and created county, the said
Board of County Commissioners, by and under the direction of the
District Court Judge or Judges of said county, shall divide such new
county into Commissioner Districts as herein provided.
Upon such division, the P.oard of County Commissioners shall assign
its members to such districts in the following manner: each member
of the said Board then in service shall be assigned to the district in
which he is residing or the nearest thereto: the senior member of the
Board in service to be assigned to the Commissioner District No. 1, the
next member in seniority to be assigned to Commissioner District No. 2,
and the junior member of the Board to be assigned to Commissioner
District No. 3; provided, that at the first general election of any newly
created and organized county, the commissioner for District No. 1, shall
be elected for two years, for No. 2, for four years, and for No. 3. for
six years, and biennially thereafter there shall be one Commissioner
elected to take the place of the retiring Commissioner, who shall hold
his office for six: years.
That the Board of County Commissioners by and under the direction
of the District Court Judge or Judges of said County, for the purpose
of equalizing in population and area such Commissioner Districts, may
change the boundaries of any or all of the Commissioner Districts in
16 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
their respective county, by filing in the office of the County Clerk ana
Recorder of such county, a certificate signed by said Judge or Judges
designating by metes and bounds the boundary lines of each of said
Commissioner Districts as changed, and such change in any or all the
districts in such county, shall become effective from and after filing of
such certificate ; provided, however, that the boundaries of no Com-
missioner District shall at any time be changed in such manner as to
affect the term of office of any County Commissioner who has been
elected, and whose term of office has not expired ; and provided, fur-
ther, that no change in the boundaries of any Commissioner District
shall be made within six months next preceding a general election.
At the general election to be held in li)30, and thereafter at each
general election, the member or members of the Board to be elected,
shall be selected from the residents and electors of the district or dis-
tricts in which the vacancy occurs, but the election of such member or
members of the Board shall be submitted to the entire electorate of the
county, provided, however, that no one shall l>e elected as a member of
said board, who has not resided in said district for at least two years
next preceding the time when he shall become a candidate for said office.
When a vacancy occurs in the Board of County Commissioners the
Judge or Judges of the Judicial District in which the vacancy occurs,
shall appoint someone residing in such Commissioner District where the
vacancy occurs, to fill the office until the next general election when a
Commissioner shall be elected to fill the unexpired term.
Section 5. There shall be elected in each county the following
county officers :
One County Clerk, who shall be Clerk of the Board of County Com-
missioners and Ex-officio Recorder: one Sheriff; one Treasurer, who
shall be collector of the taxes, provided, that no person shall hold the
office of County Treasurer for more than two (2) consecutive terms :
one County Superintendent of Schools; one County Surveyor: one As-
sessor; one Coroner; one Public Administrator. Persons elected to the
different offices named in this section shall hold their respective of-
fices for the term of two (2) years, and until their successors are
elected and qualified. Vacancies in all county, township and precinct
offices, except that of County Commissioners, shall be filled by appoint-
ment by the Board of County Commissioners, and the appointee shall
hold his office until the next general election; provided, however, that
the Board of County Commissioners of any county may, in its discre-
tion, consolidate any two (2) or more of the within named offices and
combine the powers and duties of the said offices consolidated; however,
the provisions hereof shall not be construed as allowing one (1) of-
fice incumbent to be entitled to the salaries and emoluments of two (2i
or more offices: provided, further, that in consolidating county offices.
the Board of County Commissioners shall, six (6) months prior to the
general election held for the purpose of electing the aforesaid officers,
make and enter an order, combining any two (2) or more of the within
named offices, and shall cause the said order to be published in a
newspaper, published and circulated generally in said county, for a
period of six (6) weeks next following the date of entry of said order.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 17
Section 6. The legislative assembly may provide for the election or
appointment of si^ch other county, township, precinct and municipal
officers as public convenience may require and their terms of office
shall be as prescribed by law, not in any case to exceed two years, ex-
cept as in this constitution otherwise provided.
Section 7. The legislative assembly may, by general or special law,
provide any plan, kind, manner or form of municipal government for
counties, or counties and cities and towns, or cities and towns, and
whenever deemed necessary or advisable, may abolish city or town gov-
ernment and unite, consolidate or merge cities and towns and county
under one municipal government, and any limitations in this constitu-
tion notwithstanding, may designate the name, fix and prescribe the
number, designate, terms, qualifications, method of appointment, elec-
tion or removal of the officers thereof, define their duties and fix
penalties for the violation thereof, and fix and define boundaries of the
territory so governed, and may provide for the discontinuance of such
form of government when deemed advisable ; Provided, however, that
no form of government permitted in this section shall be adopted or
discontinued until after it is submitted to the qualified electors in the
territory affected and by them approved.
ARTICLE XIX
Miscellaneous Subjects and Future Amendments
Section 8. The legislative assembly may at any time, by a vote
of two-thirds of the members elected to each house, submit to the
electors of the state the question whether there shall be a convention
to revise, alter, or amend this constitution ; and if a majority of those
voting on the question shall declare in favor of such convention, the
legislative assembly shall at its next session provide for the calling
thereof. The number of members of the convention shall be the same
as that of the house of representatives, and they shall be elected in the
same manner, at the same places, and in the same districts. The legis-
lative assembly shall in the act calling the convention designate the day.
hour and place of its meeting, fix the pay of its members and officers,
and provide for the payment of the same, together with the necessary
expenses of the convention. Before proceeding, the members shall take
an oath to support the constitution of the United States and of the
State of Montana, and to faithfully discharge their duties as members
of the convention. The qualifications of members shall be the same as
of the members of the senate, and vacancies occurring shall be filled in
the manner provided for filling vacancies in the legislative assembly.
Said convention shall meet within three months after such election and
prepare such revisions, alterations or amendments to the constitution
as may be deemed necessary, which shall be submitted to the electors
for their ratification or rejection at an election appointed by the con-
vention for that purpose, not less than two nor more than six months
after the adjournment thereof; and unless so submitted and approved
by a majority of the electors voting at the election, no such revision,
alteration or amendment shall take effect.
18 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Revised Codes of Montana, 1921, As Amended
APPORTIONMENT AND REPRESENTATION
(Constitutional Provisions Art. V and VI — See pages 7-0)
Section 44. That after the expiration of the Seventeenth Legisla-
tive Assembly of Montana, the membership of the House of Representa-
tives of all Legislative Assemblies of Montana shall be apportioned
amongst, and to the several counties of the State, upon and according
to the official Federal census enumeration of the inhabitants of the
several counties of Montana had, as taken by authority of law in the
year 1020, and upon the ratio of one Representative or member, therein
from each county, for each six thousand (6,000) persons in such county,
or fractional part thereof in excess of three thousand (3,000) persons:
provided, each county now created, shall be entitled to at least one
member.
Section 45. In accordance therewith each county of the State shall
be entitled to, and shall elect at each biennial general, state and county
election, the number of members of the House of Representatives in the
Legislative Assembly of Montana herein below allotted and apportioned
to it, and set opposite its name as follows, to-wit:
Beaverhead County One member
Big Horn County One member
Broadwater County One mennVr
Blaine County .. Two members
Carbon County Three members
Carter County One member
Cascade County Six members
Chouteau County Two members
Custer County Two members
Daniels County ( me member
Dawson County Two members
Deer Lodge County Three members
Fallon County .One member
Fergus County Four members
Flathead County Four members
Gallatin County Three members
Garfield County One member
Glacier County ■ One member
Golden Valley County One member
Granite County One member
Hill County Two members
Jefferson County One member
Judith Basin County One member
Lake County One member
Lewis and Clark County Three members
Liberty County One member
Lincoln County One member
Madison ( 'ounty One member
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA % J.'"* * M . 19
AfcCone County One member
Meagher County ( >ne member
Mineral County < >ne member
Missoula County Four members
Musselshell County One member
Park County Two members
Petroleum County One member
Phillips County Two members
Pondera County .> One member
Powder River County One member
Powell County One member
Prairie County One member
Ravalli County Two members
Richland County One member
Rosebud County One member
Roosevelt County Two members
Sanders County One member
Sheridan County Two members
Silver Bow County Ten members
Stillwater County ...One member
Sweet Grass County One member
Teton County One member
Toole County One member
Treasure County One member
Valley County Two members
Wheatland County One member
Wibaux County One member
Yellowstone County Five members
(Above list brought up to date of issue of this pamphlet.)
Section 46. Whenever a new county is created it shall have and
be entitled to one member of the House of Representatives until other-
wise apportioned.
Section 47. Whenever a new county is created, it shall be at-
tached to and become a part of the Representative district, embracing
the county from which the largest area included in the new county
has been taken.
Section 48. That all that portion of the State of Montana lying
west of the east boundary of Flathead, Lewis and Clark. Broadwater,
and Gallatin counties, to-wit : the counties of Lincoln. Sanders. Mineral,
Missoula. Ravalli, Beaverhead. Madison. Silver Bow. Jefferson. Deer
Lodge, Granite, Powell. Flathead, Gallatin, Lewis and Clark, and Broad-
water shall constitute the First Congressional district of the State; and
that all that portion of the State of Montana lying east of the east
boundary of Flathead. Lewis and Clark. Broadwater, and Gallatin
counties, to-wit: the counties of Hill, Blaine. Phillips. Valley. Sheri-
dan. Dawson, Wibaux. Prairie, Richland, Fergus, Chouteau, Cascade,
Meagher, Musselshell. Rosebud, Carter. Fallon. Big Horn, Carbon, Yel-
lowstone, Stillwater. Sweet Grass, Park, Toole, and Teton shall constitute
the Second Congressional district of the State.
20 ELECTION LAWS OE MONTANA
Whenever any county is created, comprised partly of the territory
of both such districts, said county shall belong to and become a part
of the district to which major portion of the territory of said county
belonged and was a part prior to the creation of such new county.
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
(Constitutional Provisions Art. V. Sec. 1- — page 7)
Section 99. The following shall be substantially the form of pe-
tition for the Referendum to the people on any act passed by the Legis-
lative Assembly of the State of Montana :
Warning
Any person signing any name other than his own to this petition,
or signing the same more than once for the same measure at one elec-
tion, or who is not. at the time of signing the same, a legal voter of
this State, is punishable by a fine not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars
($500), or imprisonment in the penitentiary not exceeding two years,
or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Petition for Referendum
To the Honorable , Secretary of State for the
State of Montana :
We, the undersigned citizens and legal voters of the State of Mon-
tana, respectfully order that Senate (House) Bill Number , entitled
(title of act), passed by the Legislative Assembly
of the State of Montana, at the regular (special) session of said Legis-
lative Assembly, shall be referred to the people of the State for their
approval or rejection, at the regular, general, or special election to be
held on the day of , 19 ,
and each for himself says: I have personally signed this petition; I
am a legal voter of the State of Montana ; and my residence, postoffice
address, and voting precinct are correctly written after my name.
Name Residence
Postoffice address
If in city, street and number
Voting precinct .■
(Here follow numbered lines for signatures.)
Section 100. The following shall be substantially the form of pe-
tition for any law of the State of Montana proposed by the Initiative:
Warning
Any person signing any name other than his own to this petition,
or signing the same more than once for the same measure at one elec-
tion, or who is not, at the time of signing the same, a legal voter of
this State, is punishable by a fine not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars
($500), or imprisonment in the penitentiary not exceeding two years,
or by both such fine and imprisonment.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 21
Petition for Initiative
To the Honorable . Secretary of State of
the State of Montana :
We, the undersigned legal voters of the state of Montana, respect-
fully demand that the following proposed law shall he submitted to the
legal electors of the State of Montana, for their approval or rejection,
at the regular, general or special election to he held on the.—.
day of „ , 19 and each for himself says:
I have personally signed this petition and my residence, postoffice
address, and voting precinct are correctly written after my name.
Name Residence.....
Postoffice address
If in city, street and number...
Voting precinct
(Numbered lines for names on each sheet.)
Every such sheet for petitioners' signature shall be attached to a
full and correct copy of the title and text of the measure so proposed
by initiative petition; but such petition may be filed with the Secre-
tary of State in numbered sections, for convenience in handling, and
referendum petitions may be filed in sections in like manner.
Section 101. The county clerk of each county in which any such
petitions shall be signed shall compare the signatures of the electors
signing the same with their signatures on the registration books and
blanks on file in his office, for the preceding general election, and
shall thereupon attach to the sheets of said petition containing such
signatures his certificate to the Secretary of State, substantially as
follows :
State of Montana, County of ss.
To the Honorable , Secretary of State
for Montana :
I, , County Clerk of the County of
, hereby certify that I have com-
pared the signatures on (number of sheets) of the Referendum (Initia-
tive) petition, attached hereto, with the signatures of said electors as
they appear on the registration books and blanks in my office ; and I
believe that the signatures of (names of signers), numbering (number
of genuine signatures), are genuine. As to the remainder of the signa-
tures thereon, I believe that they are not genuine, for the reason that
; and I further certify
that the following names
( ) do not appear on the registration books
and blanks in my office.
( Signed : )
(Seal of Office) County Clerk.
By ,
Deputy
22 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Every such certificate shall be prima facie evidence of the facts
stated therein, and of the qualifications of the electors whose signatures
are thus certified to be genuine, and the Secretary of State shall con-
sider and count only such signatures on such petitions as shall be so
certified by said County Clerks to be genuine ; provided, that the Secre-
tary of State may consider and count such of the remaining signatures
as may be proved to be genuine, and that the parties so signing were
legally qualified to sign such petitions, and the official certificate of
a Notary Public of the county in which the signer resides shall be re-
quired as to the fact for each of such last named signatures; and the
Secretary of State shall further compare and verify the official sig-
natures and seals of all Notaries so certifying with their signatures and
seals filed in his office. Such Notaries' certificates shall be substan-
tially in the following form :
I, , a duly qualified and acting
Notary Public in and for the above-named county and State, do hereby
certify : that I am personally acquainted with each of the following
named electors whose signatures are affixed to the annexed petition,
and I know of my own knowledge that they are legal voters of the
State of Montana, and of the county and precincts written after their
several names in the annexed petition, and that their residence and
postoffice address is correctly stated therein, to-wit : (Names of such
electors. )
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and official
seal this - day of , 19
Notary Public, in and for County,
State of Montana.
The County Clerk shall not retain in his possession any such pe-
tition, or any pai't thereof, for a longer period than two days for the
first two hundred signatures thereon, and one additional day for each
two hundred additional signatures, or fraction thereof, on (he sheets
presented to him, and at the expiration of such time he shall forward
the same to the Secretary of State, with his certificate attached thereto,
as above provided. The forms herein given are not mandatory, and
if substantially followed in any petition, it shall be sufficient, disre-
garding clerical and merely technical errors.
Section 102. Immediately upon the filing of any such petition f< ti-
the Referendum or the Initiative with the Secretary of State, signed
by the number of voters and filed within the time required by the
constitution, he shall notify the governor in writing of the filing of
such petition, and the governor shall forthwith issue his proclamation,
announcing that such petition has been filed, with a brief statement
of its tenor and effect. Said proclamation shall be published four times
for four consecutive weeks in one daily or weekly paper in each county
of the State of Montana.
Section 103. The Secretary of State, at the same time that he fur-
nishes to the county clerk of the several counties certified copies of the
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 23
names of the candidates for office, shall also furnish the said county
clerks his certified copy of the titles and numbers of the various meas
ures to be voted upon at the ensuing general or special election, and he
shall use for each measure a title designated for that purpose by the
legislative assembly, committee, or organization presenting and filing
with him the act, or petition for the initiative or the referendum, or in
the petition or act; provided, thai such title shall in no case exceed one
hundred words, and shall not resemble any such title previously filed
for any measure to be submitted at that election which shall he descrip
five of said measure, and he shall number such measures. All measures
shall be numbered with consecutive numbers beginning with the num-
ber immediately following that on the last measure filed in the office
of the Secretary of State. The affirmative and negative of each measure
shall bear the same number, and no two measures shall be numbered
alike. It shall be the duty of the several county clerks to print said
titles and numbers on the official ballot prescribed by section 67S of the
Revised Codes of Montana 1921, in the numerical order in which the
measures have been certified to them by the Secretary of State. Meas-
ures proposed by the initiative shall be designated and distinguished
from measures proposed by the Legislative Assembly by the heading
"Proposed Petition for Initiative."
All constitutional amendments submitted to the qualified electors of
the State shall likewise be placed upon the official ballot prescribed by
said section 678 and no such amendment shall hereafter be submitted
on a separate ballot. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to
change the existing laws of the State regulating in other respects the
manner of submitting such proposed amendments.
As amended by Chapter 52, Laws of 1927.
Section 104. The manner of voting on measures submitted to the
people shall be by marking the ballot with a cross in or on the dia-
gram opposite and to the left of the position for which the voter
desires to vote. The following is a sample ballot representing negative
vote :
□
For Initiative Measure No. (>
Relating to Duties of Sheriffs.
X I Against said Measure No. (i.
□
For Referendum Measure No. 7
Relating to Purchase of Insane Asylum.
Against said Measure No. 7.
And no title on the ballot shall contain more than ten words, which
shall be descriptive of the measure proposed.
24 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Section 105. The Secretary of State shall furnish a copy of each
of the proposed measures to be submitted to the people to, and make
requisition on, the State Purchasing Agent for the printing, and delivery
to him of all proposed initiative and referendum measures to be sub-
mitted to a vote of the people.
The State Purchasing Agent, shall, not later than the first Mon-
day of the third month next before any general or special election, at
which any proposed law is to be submitted to the people, cause to be
printed a true copy of the title and text of each measure to be sub-
mitted, with the number and form in which the question will be printed
on a separate official ballot. It shall be the duty of the State Purchas-
ing Agent to call for bids, and contract with the lowest responsible
bidder for the printing of the proposed law to be submitted to the
people.
The proposed law to be submitted shall be printed in news type,
each page to be six inches wide by nine inches long, and when such
proposed measure constitutes less than six pages, it shall be printed flat
and forwarded to the County Clerk and Recorder of each of the several
counties in that form.
When the proposed measure constitutes more than six pages, said
measure shall be printed in pamphlet form, securely stapled, without
cover. No proposed measure, hereafter, to be submitted to the people
of the State, as provided for in this section shall be bound. The quality
of the paper to be used for the proposed measure shall be left to
discretion of the State Purchasing Agent. The number of said proposed
measures to be printed shall be five per cent (5%) more than the
number of registered voters, as shown by the registration lists of the
several counties of the State at the last preceding general election.
The Secretary of State shall distribute to each County Clerk before
the second Monday in the third month next preceding such regular gen-
eral election, a sufficient number of said pamphlet to furnish one copy
to every voter in his county. And each County Clerk shall be required
to mail to each registered voter in each of the several counties in the
State at least one copy of the same within thirty (30) days from the
date of his receipt of the same from the Secretary of State. The mail-
ing of said pamphlets to electors shall be a part of the official duty
of the County Clerk of each of the several counties, and his official
compensation shall be full compensation for this additional service.
As amended by Chapter 137, Laws of 1927.
Section 106. The votes on measures and questions shall be counted,
canvassed and returned by the regular boards of judges, clerks, and
officers as votes for candidates are counted, canvassed, and returned,
and the abstract made by the several County Clerks of votes on meas-
ures shall be returned to the Secretary of State on separate abstract
sheets in the manner provided by sections 801 and 802 of this code for
abstracts of votes for State officers. It shall be the duty of the State
Board of Canvassers to proceed within thirty days after the election,
and sooner if the returns be all received, to canvass the votes given for
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 25
each measure, and the governor shall forthwith issue his proclama-
tion, which shall be published in two daily newspapers printed at the
capital, giving the whole number of votes cast in the State for and
against each measure and question, and declaring such measures as
are approved by a majority of those voting thereon to lie in full force
and effect as the law of the State of Montana from the date of said
proclamation, designating such measures by their titles.
Section 107. Every person who is a qualified elector of the State
of Montana may sign a petition for the Referendum or for the Initia-
tive. Any person signing any name other than his own to such petition,
or signing the same more than once for the same measure at one elec-
tion, or who is not, at the time of signing the same, a legal voter of
this State, or any officer or any person wilfully violating any provi-
sion of this statute shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a
fine not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars, or by imprisonment in the
penitentiary not exceeding two years, or by both such fine and imprison-
ment in the discretion of the court before which such conviction shall
be had.
Section 108. A bill passed by the Legislative Assembly and referred
to popular vote at the next general election, or at a special election,
shall not be in effect until it is approved at such general or special
election by a majority of those voting for and against it.
(Note — See also title, "Initiative and Referendum in Government
of Cities and Towns.")
DISQUALIFICATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS UPON
RESIDENCE OF OFFICERS
Section 410. No person is capable of holding a civil office in this
State, who at the time of his election or appointment is not of the
age of twenty-one years and a citizen of this State.
TIME OF HOLDING ELECTIONS
Section 531. There must be held throughout the State, on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday of November, in the year eighteen hun-
dred and ninety-four, and in every second year thereafter, an election
to be known as the general election.
Section 532. Special elections are such as are held to supply vacan-
cies in any office, and are held at such times as may be designated by
the proper officers or authority. The Board of County Commissioners
shall be authorized to call a special election at any time for the pur-
pose of submitting to the qualified electors of the county a proposition
to raise money for any public improvement desired to be made in the
county.
ELECTION PROCLAMATIONS
Section 533. At least sixty days before a general election, and
whenever he orders a special election to fill a vacancy in the office of
State Senator or member of the House of Representatives, at least ten
26 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
days before such special election, the governor must issue an election
proclamation, under his hand and the great seal of the State, and trans-
mit copies thereof to the Boards of Commissioners of the counties in
which such elections are to be held.
Section 534. Such proclamation must contain :
1. A statement of the time of election, and the offices to be filled.
2. An offer of rewards, in the following form : "And I do hereby
offer a reward of one hundred dollars for the arrest and conviction of
any person violating any of the provisions of sections 10747 to 10772 of
the Penal Code. Such rewards to be paid until the total amount here-
after expended for the purpose reaches the sum of five thousand
dollars."
Section 535. The Board of County Commissioners, iipon receipt
of such proclamation, may, in the case of a general or special elections,
cause a copy of the same to be published in some newspaper printed
in the county, if any, and to be posted at each place of election at
least ten days before the election ; and in case of special elections to
fill a vacancy in the office of State Senator or member of the House
of Representatives, the Board of County Commissioners, upon receipt
of such proclamation, may in their discretion, cause a copy of the same
to be published or posted as hereinbefore provided, except that such
publication or posting need not be made for a longer period than five
days before such election.
Section 536. Whenever a special election is ordered by the Board
of County Commissioners, they must issue an election proclamation,
containing the statement provided for in subdivision 1 of section 534,
and must publish and post it in the same manner as proclamations
issued by the governor.
PUBLICATION OF QUESTIONS SUBMITTED TO
POPULAR VOTE
Section 538. Questions to be submitted to the people of the county
or municipality must be advertised by publication in at least one news-
paper within the county or municipality, once a week for two successive
weeks, and one of such publications in such newspaper must be upon
the last day upon which such newspaper is issued before the election.
QUALIFICATIONS AND DISABILITIES OF ELECTORS
Section 539. All elections by the people shall l>e by ballot.
Section 540. Kvery person of the age of twenty-one years or over,
possessing I lie following qualifications, if his name is registered as re-
quired by law, is entitled to vote at all general and special elections
and for all officers that now are, or hereafter may be, elective by the
people, and upon all questions which may be submitted to the vote of
the people ; First, he must be a citizen of the United States ; second, he
must have resided in the State one year and in the county thirty days
immediately preceding the election at which he offers to vote. No per-
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 27
son convicted of felony lias the righl to vote unless he has been par-
doned. Nothing in this section contained shall be construe] to deprive
any person of the right to vote who had such right at the time of the
adoption of the State constitution. After the expiration of five years
from the time of the adoption of the State constitution, no persons ex-
cept citizens of the United States have a right to vote.
Section 541. Electors must in all cases, except treason, felony, or
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance
at elections, and in going to and returning therefrom.
Section 542. No elector is required to perform military duty on
the days of election, except in times of war or public danger.
Section 543. No idiot or insane person is entitled to vote at any
election in this State.
Section 544. The payment of a tax upon property by any person
assessed therefor on a county or city assessment roll next preceding
the election at which a question is to be submitted to the vote of the
taxpayers of the State, or to the vote of the taxpayers of such county
or city, or any subdivision thereof, constitutes such person a taxpayer
at such election.
ELECTION PRECINCTS
Section 545. The territorial unit for the conduct of elections shall
be the election precinct. The Board of County Commissioners of each
county shall establish a convenient number of election precincts therein
having reference to equalizing the number of electors in the several
precincts as nearly as possible. Precinct boundaries shall conform to
the wards of incorporated cities of the first, second and third class and
to the boundaries of school districts of the first class only, provided that
any ward or school district may be divided into two or more precincts
and any precinct may be divided into two or more polling places. In
towns, or municipal corporations other than the cities of the first, second
and third class, election precincts may, however, include two or more
wards, or may comprise the territory included by one or more wards,
together with contiguous territory lying outside the said incorporated
towms.
As amended by Chapter 25, Laws of 1929.
Section 546. The Board of County Commissioners may change the
boundaries of precincts and create new or consolidate established pre-
cincts, but no precinct shall Ik- changed or created between the first
day of January and the first day of December in any year during
which a general election is to be held within the State of Montana.
All changes, alterations, or modifications in precinct boundaries must
be certified to the County Clerk within three days after the order
making same shall have been made. All election precincts shall be desig-
nated by numbers but may also be designated by distinctive names in
addition to such numbers.
Section 547. The city council of all incorporated cities and towns
within the State of Montana shall certify to the County Clerk and
ex-officio Registrar of the county within which such city or town is
28 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
situated, a description of the boundaries of the several wards within
such city or town, and in like manner shall certify any changes or
alterations in such boundaries that may from time to time lie made,
within ten days after the same are made.
Section 548. The County Surveyor of each county must, within ten
days after the Board of County Commissioners shall have established
or changed the boundaries of any election precincts within such county,
deliver to the County Clerk of the county a map correctly showing the
boundaries of all precincts and school districts within the county as
then existing.
Section 549. The city council of any incorporated city or town
shall, within ten days after the ward lines of such city or town shall
have been established or changed, deliver or cause to be delivered to
the County Clerk of said county a map correctly showing the boun-
daries of the wards within such city or town as then existing ; such
map shall also show all stx-eets, avenues, and alleys by name, and the
respective wards by numbers, with the ward boundareis clearly de-
fined thereon.
Section 550. The board must, at the session at which judges of
election are appointed, make an order designating the house or place
within the precinct where the election must be held.
Section 551. If the board fails to designate the house or place
for holding the election, or if it cannot be held at the house or place
designated, the judges of election, or a majority of those acting as
such in the precinct must, two days before the election and by order,
under their hand (copies of which they must at once post in three
public places in the precinct), designate the house or place.
Section 552. No officer of this State, nor of any county shall es-
tablish a voting precinct within or at the premises of any Indian
agency or trading post.
REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS
Section 553. The County Clerk of each county of the State of
Montana is hereby declared to be ex-officio County Registrar of such
county and shall perform all acts and duties in this Act provided with-
out extra pay or compensation therefor. He shall have the custody of
all registration books, cards, and papers herein provided for, and the
register hereinafter provided for to be kept by said County Clerk is
hereby declared to be an official record of the office of the County
Clerk of each county.
Section 554. The official register of electors in each county shall
be contained in a book designated "register,"" which book shall be so
arranged in precincts and alphabetical divisions suitable to record the
full and complete information given by each elector, and a card index
of which the County Clerk of such county shall at all times have the
custody. The cards shall be four by six inches in size, of white calen-
dar stock, and shall be so perforated that all cards in any drawer may
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
29
be fastened in by a rod passing through such perforations, which rod
shall be kept locked except when the clerk shall be making necessary
changes in the register. The registry book herein provided shall be in
such form as shall be designated by the Secretary of State of the State
of Montana. The registry card shall be substantially in the following
form :
(FACE)
STATE OF MONTANA, 1
> ss.
County of J
Number Date Name Sex
Where born Age Height Occupation
Ft.-In.
Naturalized when Where
Residence Post Office Sec. Twp. Rg.
Length of time in Precinct Ward School Dist.
State County City
Date cancelled Date registered Disability, if any
Place where last registered
STATE OF MONTANA, I
[ ss.
County of J
, being duly sworn says:
I am the elector whose name appears on the face of this card ; the
several statements thereon contained affecting my qualifications as an
elector are true; I am able to mark my ballot (or I am unable to
mark my ballot by reason of the physical disabilities on this card spe-
cified), and I am not registered elsewhere within the State of Montana
and claim no right to vote elsewhere than in the precinct on this card
specified, so help me God.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this
- , 19
.day of
County Clerk and Ex-Offieio Registrar.
By Deputy.
30 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
(BACK)
AFFIDAVIT OF LOST NATURALIZATION PAPERS
STATE OF MONTANA, 1
f ss.
County of J
, being duly sworn on
oath, says :
I am the elector named on the face of this card ; I am a naturalized
citizen of the United States ; my certificate of naturalization is lost
or destroyed, or beyond my present, reach, and I have no certified copy
thereof; I came to the United States in the year ; I was
admitted to citizenship in the state (or territory) of
county of ...., by the court
during the year ; I last saw my certificate of naturali-
zation, or a certified copy thereof, at
Subscribed and sworn to before me this.
day of , 19...
County Clerk and Ex-Officio Registrar.
By Deputy.
Section 555. Any elector residing within the county may register
by appearing before the County Clerk and Ex-Officio Registrar and
making correct answers to all questions propounded by the County
Clerk touching the items of information called for by such registry
card, and by signing and verifying the affidavit or affidavits on the
back of such card.
Section 556. If any elector resides more than ten miles distant
from the office of the County Clerk, he may register before the deputy
registrar within the precinct where such elector resides. If by reason
of physical infirmity the elector is unable to appear before the County
Clerk or any deputy registrar, he may send written notice to the
County Clerk or to the deputy registrar of such disability, with the
request thai bis registration be made at bis residence. Upon receipt of
such notice and request it shall be the duty of the County Clerk or
deputy registrar, as the case may be, to make the registration of such
elector at bis residence; provided, that no greater sum than twenty-five
cents may be charged or received by any officer or person for taking
the registration of the elector herein provided for; and provided fur-
ther, that no officer or person shall be entitled to receive from any
county in the State of Montana any charge for expenses incurred by
reason of the provisions of this section.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 31
Section 567. All Notaries Public and Justices of the Peace are
designated as deputy registrars in the county in which they reside, and
may register electors residing more than ten miles from the county
court house in any precinct within the county. The County Commis-
sioners shall appoint a deputy registrar, other than Notaries Public and
Justices of the Peace, for each precinct in the county. Such deputy
registrar shall he a resident elector in the precinct for which he is
appointed and shall register electors in that precinct, and shall receive
as compensation for his services the sum of twenty-five cents for each
elector registered by him. Each deputy registrar shall forward by mail,
within two days, all registration cards filled out by him to the County
Clerk and Recorder.
Section 558. The office of the County Clerk shall be open for
registration of voters between the hours of nine a. m. and five p. m.
on all days except legal holidays. Registry cards shall be numbered
consecutively in the order of their receipt at the office of the County
Clerk : provided, however, that electors who are registered upon the
registry books in use in any county prior to the passage and approval
of this law shall retain upon their registry cards the same number as
they have severally had upon such books : and provided also that such
electors need not again appear at the office of the County Clerk to
register, but the County Clerk is hereby authorized to fill out from
such registry books registry cards for all electors entitled to vote at
the time of the passage and approval of this law, transcribing from such
books the data called for by such cards. The cards so filled out from the
registry books shall be marked "transcribed'' by the County ( !lerk, and
shall constitute part of the official register, and shall entitle the elector
represented by each such card to vote in the same manner as if the
card had been filled out. signed and verified by such elector. The
County Clerk shall classify register cards according to the precincts in
which the several electors reside, and shall arrange the cards in each
precinct in alphabetical order. The cards for each precinct shall be kept
in a separate filing case or drawer which shall be marked with the
number of the precinct. The County Clerk shall, immediately after fill-
ing out the card index or registry cards as herein provided, enter upon
the official register of the county in the proper precinct the full
information given by said elector.
Section 559. If any applicant for registration applies to be regis-
tered who has not resided within the State of Montana, or the county
or city for the required length of time, and who shall be entitled to
and is qualified to register on or before the day of election, provided
he answers the question of the County Clerk in a satisfactory manner,
and it is made to appear to the County Clerk that he will be entitled
to become a qualified elector by the date upon which the election is
to be held, the County Clerk shall accept such registration. If any
person applies to be registered who is not a citizen of the United States,
but states that he will be qualified to be registered as a citizen of
the United States before the date upon which the election is to be
held, the County Clerk shall accept such registration, but shall place
32 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
opposite the name of such person the words, "to be challenged for want
of naturalization papers," and such person shall not be entitled to
vote unless he exhibits to the judges of election his final naturaliza-
tion papers.
Section 560. Every elector, on changing his residence from one
precinct to another within the same county, may cause his registry
card to be transferred to the register of the precinct of his new resi-
dence, by a request in writing to the County Clerk of such county, in
the following form :
I, the undersigned elector, having changed my residence from Pre-
cinct No to Precinct No in the County of
, State of Montana, herewith make application
to have my registry card transferred to the precinct register of the
precinct of my present residence. My registration number is
Dated at , on the day of
- - , 19
Whenever it shall be more convenient for any elector residing out-
side of an incorporated city or town to vote in another precinct in the
same political township in the county, such elector may cause his
registry card to be transferred from the precinct of his residence to
such other precinct, by filing in the office of the County Clerk of such
county, at least thirty days prior to any election, a request in writing
in the following form :
I, the undersigned elector, herewith make application to have my
registry card transferred from Precinct No to the register of
Precinct, No... , in the county of , State of
Montana. The reason why it is more convenient for me to vote in
said Precinct No is that
Dated at , on the day of
' , 19
The County Clerk shall compare the signature of the elector upon
such request in either case, with the signature upon the registry card
of the elector as indicated, and may question the elector as to any of
the information contained upon such registry card, and if the County
Clerk is satisfied concerning the identity of the elector and his right
to have such transfer made, he shall endorse upon the registry card
of such elector the date of the transfer and the precinct to which
transferred, and shall file said card in the register of the precinct of
the elector's present residence, or of the precinct to which he has re-
quested that his registry card be transferred, and the County Clerk
shall in each case make a transfer of the elector's name, together with
all data connected therewith, to the proper precinct in the register.
Section 561. If any elector registered as such in any county shall
change his residence to another county in the State of Montana, he
shall make and file with the County Clerk of the latter county the
following affidavit in duplicate, to-wit :
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 33
STATE OF MONTANA, 1
> SS.
County of J
I. the undersigned elector, being duly sworn on o;ith say:
I have heretofore registered as an elector in the state of Montana.
( jounty of , Precinct No , but
on the day of 19 , I
moved my residence to the County of in
said State, and now reside at Section Township
Range Precinct No : I occupy
Room No of the Building
floor; I was horn in and was naturalized
as a citizen of the United States in My height is
ft in. I request that I be registered to conform to my
present address.
Elector.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of
, 19
Said affidavit may be sworn to before any officer authorized to
administer oaths within the State of Montana. Upon filing such affi-
davit in duplicate with the County Clerk, such elector shall fill out a
registry card as herein provided for the original registration of voters.
and he shall thereupon be entitled to all of the rights of an elector in
the precinct of his present residence, and such registry card shall be
filed in the official registry of such precinct in the same manner as
an original registry card.
Upon receiving the duplicate affidavits above referred to the County
Clerk shall file one in his own office, and shall within two days there-
after transmit the other to the County Clerk of the county wherein
said elector was previously registered. Upon the receipt of such dupli-
cate affidavit by the County Clerk of such other county, he shall trans-
fer the registry card of the elector named in such affidavit to the
cancelled file of said county. Upon receiving the duplicate affidavit re-
ferred to in this section, the County Clerk shall cancel the name of
such elector in the register herein provided for, by drawing a line
through said entry in red ink and by endorsing thereon the cause of
said cancellation.
Section 562. Immediately after every general election, the County
Clerk of each county shall compare the list of electors who have voted
at such election in each precinct, as shown by the official poll-book,
with the official register of said precinct, and he shall remove from
the official register herein provided for the registry cards of all electors
who have failed to vote at such election, and shall mark each of said
cards with the word "Cancelled," and shall place such cancelled cards
34 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
for the entire county in alphabetical order in a separate drawer to be
known as the "cancelled file ;" but any elector whose card is thus re-
moved from the official register may re-register in the same manner as
his original registration was made, and the registration card of any
elector who thus re-registers shall be filed by the County Clerk in the
official register in the same manner as original registration cards are
filed. The County Clerk shall at the same time cancel, by drawing a
red line through the entry thereof, the name of all such electors who
have failed to vote at such election.
Section 563. Every citizen of the State of Montana who was en-
gaged in the active military or naval services of the United States dur-
ing the late war. and was duly registered and entitled to vote at the
last general election, and by reason of such service was unable to vote
at such election, shall not be considered to have lost any rights by
reason thereof, and the provisions of the preceding section will nut
apply.
Section 564. The County Clerk shall, within ten days after the
passage and approval of this Act, withdraw from the '"cancelled file"
the registration cards of all persons subject to the provision of this
Art. and place such cards in the active precinct registration files, and
enter the names of such persons upon the proper registration rolls.
Section 565. Any person subject to the provisions of this Act,
whose name does not appear upon the register of voters for the pre-
cinct in which such person resides, shall be entitled to vote at any
election upon filing with the judges of election an affidavit, showing
that he is a citizen of the State of Montana and was duly registered
as an elector for the general election in 1918, and that by reason of
service in the military or naval service of the United States he was
unable to vote at such election. Upon the filing of such affidavit said
judges shall enter the name of such person upon the register of voters
for such precinct and forward to the County Clerk the affidavit so
made. The County Clerk shall immediately withdraw the registration
card of such person from the "cancelled file," and place the same in
the proper precinct file.
Section 566. The County Clerk shall elose all registration for the
full period of forty-five days prior to and before any election. He shall
immediately transmit to the Secretary of State a certificate showing
the number of voters registered in each precinct in said county. The
County Clerk of each county must cause to he published in a newspaper
within his county, having a general circulation therein, for thirty days
before which time when such registration shall he closed for any elec-
tion, a notice signed by him to the effect that such registration will
be closed on the day provided by law, and which day shall be specified
in such notice; and must also state that electors may register for the
ensuing election by appearing before the County Clerk at his office, or
by appearing before a deputy registrar or before any Notary Public or
Justice of the Peace in the manner provided by law. The publication of
such notice must continue for the full period of thirty days. At least
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 35
thirty days before the time when the official register Is closed for any
election, the County Clerk shall cause to be posted. In at least five
conspicuous places in each voting precinct at such election, notice of
the time when the official register will close for SUCh election.
Section 5G7. Printing and Testing Lists of Registered Electors.
The County Clerk shall, at least 15 days preceding any municipal
primary nominating election in towns and cities, and at least thirty
days preceding any other election, cause to he printed and posted a
list of all electors entitled to be registered as shown by the official reg-
ister of the county, and who are on the precinct registers as entitled
to vote in the several precincts of such county, city or town, or school
district of the first class, provided, that if the City Clerk of any city
or town shall, in writing, certify to the County Clerk, not less than
twenty-five days before the date fixed by law for the holding of any
primary nominating election, that no petitions for nomination under
the direct primary election law for any office to be filled at the next
ensuing annual city election have been filed with such City or Town
Clerk, not less than thirty days before the date fixed by law for the
holding of the primary nominating election, then the County Clerk shall
not cause to be printed or posted such list of registered electors for
such city or town. Such printed list of registered electors shall con-
tain the name of the elector in full, together with his residence, giving
the number and street, or the name of the house, or the section, town-
ship and range, as shown by the official register card of the elector,
and the registry number. The expense of printing said list shall be
paid by said county, city or town, or school district, in which the elec-
tion is to he held. The County Clerk shall cause to l>e posted, not less
than fifteen days before any municipal, primary nominating election,
and not less than thirty days before any other election, as in this Ad
provided for, at least five copies of such printed registry list in at
least five conspicuous places within said precinct, a copy of the list
of registered voters herein provided for, and shall retain sufficient num-
ber of said printed lists of registered voters in his office as may be
necessary for the convenience of the public. He shall furnish to any
qualified elector of any county, city or town or school district apply-
ing therefor a copy of the same, provided, that where the list herein
provided for has been printed and posted for any primary election, the
same may be used for the election proper, following a posting in con-
nection therewith, at the time provided for in this section, a supple-
mental list giving the names of electors who may have registered after
the first list was prepared.
As Amended by Chapter 61, Laws of 1933.
Section 56S. POLL-BOOK— PRECINCTS INCLUDING MORE THAN
ONE COUNTY. During the time intervening between the closing of the
official register and the day of the ensuing election, the County Clerk
shall prepare for each precinct a hook to be known as the "POLL-BOOK"'
which shall be for the use of the Clerks and Judges of Election in
each such precinct. Such hooks shall he arranged for the listing of the
names of the electors in alphabetical divisions, each division to be com-
36 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
l»(»sc(l of ruled columns with appropriate headings, under which the in-
formation contained upon the registry card of each elector shall he
transcribed, excepting the oath of the elector, and the certified copy
of the poll-books so prepared shall he delivered to the judges of the
election at or prior to the opening of the polls in each precinct. Where
the precincts in municipal elections, or in elections in school districts
of the first class, include more than one county precinct, the County
Clerk shall combine into one poll-hook the names of all electors in the
several precinct registers of the precincts of which such municipal or
school district precinct is composed. The County Clerk shall omit from
the list of names of all certified voters so inserted in the poll-book
herein provided for, the names and registry of all electors which it is
the duty of the County Clerk to cancel under the provisions of Section
570, provided that the requirements contained in the provisions of said
section shall have heen brought to the attention of the County Clerk
not less than twenty days preceding the election. Tf the City Clerk of
any city or town shall, in writing, certify to the County Clerk, not less
than twenty-five days before the date fixed by law for the holding of
any primary nominating election, that no petitions for nomination under
the direct primary election law for any office to be filled at the next
ensuing annual city election have been filed with such City Clerk, not
less than thirty days before the date fixed by law for the holding of the
primary nominating election, then the County Clerk shall not prepare
for the city any poll-book or poll-hooks for that year.
As amended by Chapter 61, Laws of 1033.
Section 560. Whenever the period during which the official reg-
istry is closed preceding any election shall occur during the time within
which any elector is entitled to register for another election, such elector
shall he permitted to registed for such other election, hut the County
Clerk shall retain his registry card in a separate file Until the official
register is again open for filing of cards, at which time all cards in
such temporary file shall he placed in their proper position in tin1
official register.
Section 570. The County Clerk must cancel any registry card in
the following cases:
1. At the request of the party registered.
2. When he has personal knowledge of the death or removal from
the county of the person registered, or when duly authenticated cer-
tificate of the death of any elector is filed in his office.
.'!. When there is presented and filed with the County Clerk the
separate affidavit of three qualified registered electors residing within
the precinct, which affidavit shall give the name of such elector, his
registry number, and his residence, and which affidavit shall show that
of the personal knowledge of the affiant, that any person registered does
not reside or has removed from the place designated as the residence
of such elector.
4. When the insanity of the elector is legally established.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 37
">. Upon Hie production of a certified copy of a final judgment of
conviction of any elector of felony.
G. Upon the production of :i certified copy of the judgmenl of anj
court directing the cancellation to be made.
Section 571. COMPENSATION OF COUNTY CLERKS. The County
clerks shall receive, for the use and benefit of the county, from every
city or town, or from every school district of the first class, (to which
the poll books referred to in the last section have been furnished), the
sum of Three ($.03) Cents for each and every name entered in such
poll book, and in addition he shall receive in like manner the amount of
the actual expense incurred in printing and posting the lists of electors,
and in publishing the notices required by this law. and any other ex-
pense incurred on account of any such municipal or school district elec-
tion. It shall be the duty of the City or Town Council, or Board of
School Trustees, to order a warrant drawn for such sum as may be due
to the County Clerk under the provisions of this section, within thirty
(30) days after the presentation of the account to them by said County
Clerk, provided, however, that in event of the election of candidates at
municipal primary elections, as provided for in Chapter 13 of the Ses-
sion Laws of 1933 of the State of Montana, and no general municipal
election is required to be held, the County Clerk shall prepare no poll
books for such general municipal election and shall make no charge
therefor; provided further, that in elections of school districts of the
first class if only as many candidates are nominated as there are vacan-
cies to be filled, the County Clerk shall furnish no poll books and make
no charge therefor to such school district.
It shall be the duty of the City Clerk or the Clerk of the school
district to notify the County Clerk in such case as above mentioned,
where no poll hooks are required, immediately after the facts become
known to the City Council or the Board of Trustees of the school dis-
trict, which makes unnecessary the furnishing of such poll books.
As amended by Chapter 71, Laws of 1935.
Section 572. The County Clerk shall furnish to any person or per-
sons who in writing may so request, a copy of the official precinct
registers of any county, city or school district precinct, and upon de-
livery thereof shall charge and collect for the use and benefit of the
county the sum of five cents for each and every name entered in such
official precinct register.
Section 573. At any time not later than the tenth day prior to any
election, a challenge may he filed with the County Clerk, signed by a
qualified elector in writing, and duly verified by the affidavit of the
elector, that the elector designated therein is not entitled to register.
Such affidavit shall state the grounds of challenge, objection and dis-
qualification. The County Clerk shall file the affidavit of challenge in
his office as a record thereof. The County Clerk must deliver a true
and correct copy of any and all such affidavits so filed, challenging
the right of any elector to vote who has been so registered at the same
time, and together with the copy of the precinct registers and check
38 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
lists, and other papers required by this Act to be delivered to the judges
of election, as in this Act provided, and he must write distinctly opposite
to the name of any person to whose qualification as an elector objec-
tions may be thus made, the words "To be challenged.*' It shall be the
duty of the judges of election, if on election day such person who has
been objected to and challenged applies to vote, to test, under oath, his
qualifications. Notwithstanding the elector is registered, his right to
vote may be challenged on the day of election by any qualified reg-
istered elector, orally stating, to the judges of election, the grounds of
such objection or challenge to the right of any registered elector to
vote.
It is the duty of the judges of election, when it appears that any
elector offers to vote and is either challenged by a duly qualified reg-
istered elector, on election day, or if an affidavit of objection to the
right of such elector to vote has been filed with the County Clerk and
the copy of the precinct registers furnished to the judges of election
have endorsed thereon, opposite to the name of such elector, "to be
challenged," to test the qualifications of the elector and ask any ques-
tions that such judges may deem proper, and shall compare the answers
of the elector to such questions with the entries in the precinct register
books, and if it be found that said elector is disqualified, or that the
answers given by such elector to the questions propounded by the judges
do not correspond to the entry in the precinct registers, or that said
elector is disqualified from any cause under the law, or if he refuses to
take an oath as to his qualifications, he shall not be permitted to vote.
The judges of election, in their discretion, may require such elector to
produce before them one or more freeholders of the county, as they
may deem necessary, and have them examined under oath as to the
qualifications of the elector.
Section 574. RESIDENCE, RULES FOR DETERMINING. For the
purpose of registration or voting, the place of residence of any person
must be governed by the following rules as far as they are applicable :
1. That place must be considered and held to be the residence of
a person in which his habitation is fixed, and to which whenever he is
absent, he has the intention of returning.
2. A person must not be held to. have gained or lost a residence
by reason of his presence or absence while employed in the service of
the United States, or of this state, nor while a student at any insti-
tution of learning, nor while kept at any almshouse or other asylum at
the public expense, nor while confined in any public pi'ison, nor while
residing on any military reservation.
3. No soldier, seaman, or marine in the Army or Navy of the
United States shall be deemed a resident of this state in consequence
of being stationed at any military or naval place within the same. No
person shall be deemed to have acquired a residence in the State of
Montana by reason of being employed or stationed at any United States
Civilian Conservation Corps Camp within the State of Montana or at
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 3d
any transient camp maintained for relief purposes by the Government of
the United States within the state of Montana.
4. A person must not lie considered to have lost his residence who
leaves his home to go into another state, or other district of this state,
for temporary purposes merely with the intention of returning, provided
he has not exercised the right of the election franchise in said state
or distrirt.
5. A person must not be considered to have gained a residence in
any county into which he comes for temporary purposes merely with-
out the intention of making such county his home.
6. If a person removes to another state with the intention of mak-
ing it his residence, he loses his residence in this state.
7. If a person removes to another state with the intention of re-
maining there for an indefinite time, and as a place of present resi-
dence, he loses his residence in this state, notwithstanding he entertains
an intention of returning at some future period.
S. The place where a man's family resides is presumed his place
of residence, but any man who takes up or continues his abode with
the intention of remaining, or a place other than where his family
resides, must be regarded as a resident of the place where he so abides.
9. A change of residence can only be made by the act of removal
joined with the intent to remain in another place. There can only he
one residence. A residence cannot be lost until another is gained.
10. The term of residence must be computed by including the day
of the election.
As amended by Chapter 25, Laws of 1935.
Section 575. When a naturalized citizen applies for registration his
certificate of naturalization, or a certified copy thereof, must be pro-
duced and stamped, or written in ink by the registry agent, with such
registry agent's name and the year and day and county where pre-
sented ; but if it satisfactorily appears to the registry agent, by the
affidavit of the applicant (and the affidavit of one or more credible
electors as to the credibility of such applicant when deemed neces-
sary), that his certificate of naturalization, or a certified copy thereof,
is lost or destroyed, or beyond the reach of the applicant for the time
being, said registry agent must register the name of said applicant,
unless he is by law otherwise disqualified; but in case of failure to
produce the certificate of naturalization, or a certified copy thereof, the
registry agent must propound the following questions :
1. In what year did you come to the United States?
2. In what state or territory, county, court, and year were you
finally admitted to citizenship?
3. Where did you last see your certificate of naturalization, or
a certified copy thereof?
Section 576. The judges of election in each precinct, at every
general or special election, shall, in the precinct register book, which
shall be certified to them by the County Clerk, mark a cross (X) upon
40 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
the line opposite to the name of the elector, before any elector is per-
mitted to vote, the judges of election shall require the elector to sign
his name upon one of the precinct register hooks, designated by the
County Clerk for that purpose, and in a column reserved in the said
precinct books for the signature of electors. If the elector is not able
to sign his name he shall be required by the judges to produce two
freeholders who shall make an affidavit before the judges of election,
or one of them, in substantially the following form :
STATE OF MONTANA, 1
f ss.
County of J
We, the undersigned witnesses, do swear that our names and signa-
tures are genuine, and that we are each personally acquainted with
„ , (the name of the elector)
and that we know that he is residing at ,
and that we believe that he is entitled to vote at this election, and that
we are each freeholders in the county. Which affidavit shall be filed
by the judges, and returned by them to the County Clerk, with the
return of the election ; one of the judges shall thereupon write the
elector's name, and note the fact of his inability to sign, and the names
of the two freeholders who made the affidavit herein provided for. If
the elector fails or refuses to sign his name and if unable to write
fails to procure two freeholders who will take the oath herein provided,
he shall not be allowed to vote. Immediately after the election and
canvass of the returns, the judges of election shall deliver to the County
Clerk the copy of said official precinct register sealed, with the elec-
tion returns and poll-book, which have been used at said election.
Section 577. In any action or proceeding instituted in a district
court to compel the County Clerk to make and enter the name of any
elector in the precinct register, as many persons may be joined as plain-
tiffs for cause of action and as many persons as there are causes of
action against may be joined as defendants.
Section 578. No person shall be entitled to vote at any election
mentioned in this Act unless his name shall on the day of election,,
except at school election in school districts of the second and third
class, appear in the copy of the official precinct register furnished by
the County Clerk to the judges of election, and the fact that his name
so appears in the copy of the precinct register shall be prima facie
evidence of his right to vote; provided, that when the judges shall have
good reason to believe, or when they shall be informed by a qualified
elector that the person offering to vote is not the person who was so
registered in that name, the vote of such person shall not be received
until he shall have proved his identity as the person who was registered
in that name by the oath of two reputable freeholders within the pre-
cinct in which such elector is registered.
Section 579. Any elector whose name is erroneously omitted from
any precinct poll-book may apply for and secure from the County Clerk
a certificate of such error, and stating the precinct in which such elector
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 41
is entitled to vote, and upon the presentation of such certificate to the
judges of election in such precinct, the said elector shall be entitled t'>
voic in the same manner as if his came had appeared upon the precinct
poll-book. Such certificate shall be marked "voted" by the judges, and
shall be returned by them with the poll-book.
Section 580. Wherever in this Act the word "County Clerk" ap-
pears, it shall be construed as extending and giving authority to any
regularly appointed Deputy County Clerk.
Section 581. The word "elector" as used in this law. whether used
with or without the masculine pronoun, shall apply equally to male
and female electors.
Section 582. The word "election" as used in this law where not
otherwise qualified, shall be taken to apply to general, special, primary
nominating and municipal elections, and to elections in school districts
of the first class.
Section 583. Any person or inn-sons, or any officer of any county.
city or town, or school district, who. under the provisions of this Act.
are requh-ed to perform any duty, who shall wilfully or knowingly fail,
refuse or neglect to perform such duty, or to comply with the provi-
sions of this Act. shall, upon conviction, be fined in the sum of not
less than Three Hundred Dollars, nor more than One Thousand Dollars.
or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not less than three
months and no more than one year. Upon the conviction of any officer
of the "violation of the provisions of this Act. the Judge of the District
Court hearing such proceeding shall, at the time of rendering judgment
of conviction, include in such order of conviction an order of the court
that such officer be removed from office.
Section 584. If any person offering to vote at any primary election
be challenged by a judge or any qualified elector at said election, as
to his right to vote thereat, an oath shall be administered to him by
one of the judges that he will truly answer all questions touching his
right to vote at such election, and if it appear that he is not a quali-
fied voter under the provisions of this Act. his vote shall be rejected :
and if any person whose vote shall be so rejected shall offer to vote
at the same election, at any other polling place, he shall lie deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor.
Section 585. Any person who shall make false answers, either for
himself or another, or shall violate or attempt to violate any of the
provisions of this Act, or knowingly encourage another to \iolate the
same, or any public officer or officers, or other persons upon whom
any duty is imposed by this Act. or any of its provisions, who shall
wilfully neglect such duty, or shall wilfully perform it in suvh way as
to hinder the objects and purposes of this Act, shall, excepting where
some penalty is provided by the terms of this Act, be deemed guilty of
a felony, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprison-
ment in the State prison for a period of not less than one year or
more than fourteen years, and if such person be a public officer, shall
also forfeit his office.
42 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Section 5S6. It shall be the duty of the Board of County Commis-
sioners of each county to provide the County Clerk thereof with suf-
ficient help to enable him to properly perform the duties imposed upon
him by this Act, and the cost of the stationery, printing, publishing, and
posting to be furnished or procured by the County Clerk by the provisions
of this law shall be a proper charge upon the county.
JUDGES AND CLERKS OF ELECTION
Section 587. The Board of County Commissioners of the several
counties at the regular session next preceding a general election, must
appoint five judges of election for each precinct in which the voters
therein, by the last registration, were two hundred or more and three
judges of election for each precinct in which such registration was less
than two hundred, as amended by Chapter 43, Laws of 1923.
Section 588. The Board of County Commissioners, notwithstanding
the registration, may appoint five judges of each precinct in which upon
information obtained by them they have reason to believe contains two
hundred voters or more and three judges of election in precincts which
upon information obtained by them, they have reason to believe was
less than two hundred, as amended by Chapter 43, Laws of 1923.
Section 589. In any new precinct established, the Board of County
Commissioners must, in like manner, appoint five or three judges of
election, according to the estimated number of voters therein, as re-
quired by the two next preceding sections.
Section 590. In making the appointment of judges of election, not
more than a majority of such judges must be appointed from any one
political party for each precinct.
Section 591. The compensation of members of boards of election,
including judges and clerks, is hereby fixed at forty cents per hour for
the time actually on duty, and must be audited by the Board of County
Commissioners and paid out of the county treasury.
Section 592. The clerk of the board must make out and forward
by mail, immediately after the appointment of the judges, a notice
thereof in writing, directed to each of them. In case there is no post-
office in any one or more of the precincts in any county, the clerk must
forward notices of such appointment by registered mail to the postoffice
nearest such precinct, directed to the judges aforesaid. If, in any of
the precincts, any of the judges refuse or neglect to serve, the electors
of such precinct may elect a judge or judges to fill vacancies on the
morning of the election, to serve at such election.
Section 593. The judges must elect two persons having the same
qualifications as themselves to act as clerks of the election. The judges
continue judges of all elections to be held in their respective precincts
until other judges are appointed ; and the clerks of election continue
to act as such during the pleasure of the judges of election, and the
Board of County Commissioners must from time to time fill vacancies
which may occur in the office of judges of election in any precinct
within their respective counties.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 43
Section 594. The clerks of the several Hoards of County Commis-
sioners must, at least thirty days before any general election, make
and forward by mail to such judge i>r judges as are designate! by the
County Commissioners, three written notices for each precinct, said
notices to he substantially as follows:
Notice is hereby given that on the first Tuesday after the first
Monday of November, 19 , at the house , in the county of
, an election will be held for
(naming the offices to be filled, including electors of President and
Vice-President, a Representative in Congress. State, county and town
ship officers), and for the determination of the following questions
(naming them), the polls of which election will be open at S o'clock in
the morning and continue open until 6 o'clock in the afternoon of the
same day. Dated this day of , A. D. 19
Signed. A. B., Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners.
Section 595. The judges to whom such notice is directed, as pro-
vided in the next preceding section, must cause to be put up in three
of the most public places in each precinct the notices of election in such
precinct, at least ten days previous to the time of holding any general
election, which notices must be posted as follows : One at the house
where the election is authorized to be held, and the others at the two
most public and suitable places in the precinct.
Section 596. Previous to votes being taken, the judges and clerks
of election must take and subscribe the official oath prescribed by
the constitution. It is lawful for the pudges of election, and they are
hereby empowered, to administer the oath to each other, and to the
clerks of the election.
Section 597. Any member of the hoard, or either clerk thereof, may
administer and certify oaths required to be administered during the
progress of an election.
ELECTION SUPPLIES
Section 598. The Board of County Commissioners of each county
must furnish for the several election precincts in each county poll-books
after the forms hereinafter prescribed.
Section 599. The clerk of the board must forward by mail, as a
registered package, to one of the judges of election so appointed, in
each precinct, at least ten days prior to any general election and five
days prior to any special election, two of such blank poll-books for the
use of the judges of such precinct.
Section 600. The following is the form of poll-books to be kept
in duplicate by the judges and clerks of election:
44
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
Poll-Book of Precinct No...
Number and names of electors voting.
No.
NAME
No.
NAME
No.
NAME
Total number of votes cast at Precinct No
We, the undersigned, judges and clerks of an election held at Pre-
cinct No , in the County of , in the State
of Montana, on the day of , 19 ,
having first been severally sworn according to law, hereby certify that
the foregoing is a true statement of the number and names of the per-
sons voting at said precinct at said election, and that the following
named persons received the number of votes annexed to their respective
names for the following described offices to-wit :
Governor
Members of Legislative Assembly
A. B.,- Votes
C. D.,- Votes
Senate
E. F., Votes
House of Representatives
G. H., Votes
Certified and Signed by Us.
< 'lerks.
I
Judges.
Section 601. No poll-book or certificate returned from any election
precinct must be set aside or rejected for want of form, nor on ac-
count of its not being strictly in accordance with the directions of
this chapter, if it can be satisfactorily understood.
Section 602. The necessary printed blanks for poll lists, tally
lists, lists of electors, tickets, and returns, together with envelopes in
which to enclose the returns, must be furnished by the Hoards of County
Commissioners to the officers of each election precinct at the expense
of the county.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 45
Section oor!. Before the opening of the polls, the County Clerk, or
the City Clerk In the case of municipal elections, must deliver to the
judges of each election precinct which is within the county (or within
the municipality in case of municipal election) and in which the elec-
tion is to ho held, at the polling place of the precinct, the proper num-
l>or of election hallots as provided for in section 687 of this Code. He
must also deliver to said judges a ruhber or other stamp, with ink
pad. for the purpose of stamping or designating the official hallots as
hereinafter provided. Said stamp must contain the words "Official
"Ballot," the name or number of the election precinct, the name of the
countv. the date of election, and name and official designation of the
clerk who furnishes the ballots. The judge of election to whom the
stamps and ballots are given pursuant to this section must be the
same person who may be designated by the commissioners to post the
notices required by section 594 of this Code. But in case it be imprac-
ticable to deliver such stamps and ballots to such judge then they may
be delivered to some other one of the judges of election.
Section 604. There shall lie provided at the expense of the county,
for each polling precinct, a substantial ballot box or canvas pouch with
a secure lock and key for the ballots and detached stubs as herein-
after provided for. There shall he one opening and no more in such
box or canvas pouch, of siifficient size to admit a single folded ballot.
The adoption of the canvas pouch to be used instead of the ballot box.
in any precinct, shall be optional with the commissioners of each county,
but in such precincts where pouches are so adopted, the pouches shall
lie returned to the County Clerk together with the other election returns,
as by law provided.
Section 605. There must be an opening in the lid of such hox of
no larger size than shall be sufficient to admit a single folded ballot.
Section 606. Before receiving any ballots, the judges must, in the
presence of any persons assembled at the polling place, open and ex-
hibit the ballot-box and remove any contents therefrom, and then close
and lock the same, delivering the key to one of their members, and
thereafter the ballot-box must not be removed from the polling place or
presence of the bystanders until all the ballots are counted, nor must
it be opened until after the polls are finally closed.
Section 607. The County Clerk of each county must cause to be
printed in large type on cards, in the English language, instructions
for the guidance of electors in preparing their ballots. He must fur-
nish six cards to the judges of election in each election precinct, and
one additional card for each fifty registered electors, or fractional
part thereof, in the precinct, at the same time and in the same manner
as the printed ballots. The judges of election must post not less than
one of such cards in each place or compartment provided for the pre-
paration of ballots, and not less than three of such cards elsewhere in
and about polling places upon the day of election. Said cards must be
printed in large, clear type, and must contain full instructions to the
voters as to what should be done, viz. :
46 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
1. To obtain ballots for voting.
2. To prepare the ballots for deposit in the ballot boxes.
3. To obtain a new ballot in the place of one spoiled by accident
or mistake. Said card must also contain a copy of sections 10753, 10757.
10758. 10759, 10760, 10761, of the Penal Code. There must also be
posted in each of the compartments, or booths, one of the official tickets,
as provided in sections 677 to 686. without the official stamp, and not
less than three such tickets posted elsewhere in and about the polling
places upon the day of election.
Section 608. In sending out election supplies to each precinct for
each general election, it shall be the duty of the County Clerk in each
county to send with such siipplies not less than six printed forms, with
a return envelope, for the use of judges of election in transmitting elec-
tion returns for public information. Said printed forms shall be in
ballot form on tinted paper, and the name of each candidate and each
proposition voted on shall be printed on said blank. Brief instructions
for the use of said blank, as contained in this Act, shall also be printed
on said blank-.
Section 609. As soon as all of the ballots have been counted in any
precinct, it shall be the duty of the election judges to correctly copy
the total vote cast for each candidate and the total vote cast for and
against each proposition on the blanks furnished by the County Clerk,
as provided in the preceding section.
Section 610. One of said blanks, properly filled out. shall be posted
forthwith at the polling place; and one copy, correctly filled out. shall
be sent by mail or by messenger, when the same can be done without
expense, to the County Clerk. Said copy may be sent by the same
messenger carrying the official election returns, but the same shall not
be enclosed or sealed with the other returns.
Section 611. Any judge of election, or other officer, who shall fail
or refuse to comply with the provisions of this Act. shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in
any sum not exceeding Fifty Dollars.
NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES FOR SPECIAL ELECTIONS BY
CONVENTION OR PRIMARY MEETING OR BY ELECTORS
Section 612. Any convention or primary meeting held for the pur-
pose of making nominations to public office, or the number of electors
required in tbis chapter, may nominate candidates for public office to
be filled by election in the State. A convention or primary meeting
within the meaning of this chapter is an organized assemblage of elec-
tors or delegates representing a political party or principle.
Section 613. All nominations made by such convention or primary
meeting must be certified as follows: The certificate of nomination.
which must be in writing, must contain the name of each person
nominated, his l'esidence, his business, bis business address, and the
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 47
office for which ho is named, and must designate, In n<>t more than
five words, the party or principle which such convention or primary meel
Ing represents, and it must be signed by the presiding officer and secre-
tary of such convention or primary meeting, who must add to their
signatures their respective places of residence, their business, and busi-
ness addresses. Such certificates must lx> delivered by the secretary
or the president of such convention or primary meeting to the Secre-
tary of the State or to the County Clerk, as in this chapter required
Section 614. Certificates of nomination of candidates for offices
to be filled by the electors of the entire State, or of any division or
district greater than a county, must be filed with the Secretary of
State. Certificates of nomination for county, township, and precinct of-
ficers must be filed with the clerks of the respective counties wherein
the officers are to be elected. Certificates of nomination for municipal
officers must be filed with the clerks of the respective municipal cor-
porations wherein the officers are to be elected. The certificate of nomi-
nation of joint member of the House of Representatives must be filed
in the offices of the County Clerks of the counties to be represented
by such joint member.
Section 615. Candidates for public office may be nominated other-
wise than by convention or primary meeting in the manner following:
A certificate of nomination, containing the name of a candidate for
the office to be filled, with such information as is required to be given
in certificates provided for in section 613, must be signed by electors
residing within the State and district, or political division in and for
which the officer or officers are to be elected, in the following required
numbers :
The number of signatures must not be less in number than five per
cent of the number of votes cast for the successful candidate for the
same office at the next preceding election, whether the said candidate
be State, county, township, municipal, or any other political division or
subdivision of the State or county ; but the signatures need not all be
appended to one paper. Each elector signing a certificate shall add to
his signature his place of residence, his business, and his business ad-
dress. Any such certificate may be filed as provided for in the next pre-
ceding section of this chapter, in the manner and with the same effect
as a certificate of nomination made by a party convention or primary
meeting.
Section 616. No certificate of nomination must contain the name of
more than one candidate for each office to be filled. No person must
join in nominating more than one person for each office to be filled,
and no person must accept a nomination to more than one office.
Section 617. The Secretary of State and the clerks of the several
counties and of the several municipal corporations must cause to be
preserved in their respective offices for one year all certificates of
nomination filed under the provisions of this chapter. All such certifi-
cates must be open to public inspection under proper regulations to be
made by the officers with whom the same are filed.
48 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Section 61S. Certificate of nomination to be filed with the Secre-
tary of State must be filed not more than sixty (60) days and not less
than thirty (30) days before the date fixed by law for the election.
Certificates of nomination herein directed to be filed with the County
Clerk must be filed not more than sixty (60) days and not less than
thirty (30) days before the election ; certificates of the nomination of
candidates for municipal offices must be filed with the clerks of the
respective municipal corporations not more than thirty (30) days and
not less than ten days previous to the day of election : but the provisions
of this section shall not be held to apply to nominations for special
elections to fill vacancies, as amended by Chapter 64. Laws of 1925.
Section 61SA. All candidates nominated under the provisions of
this chapter, shall upon filing the certificate of nomination as provided
by Sections 614 and 618 of the Revised Codes of Montana. 1921, as
amended, pay to the officer with whom the certificates of nomination
are required to be filed, the fees provided by Section 640 of the Re-
vised Codes of Montana. 1921. as amended by Chapter 125. laws of
Montana. 1927. and such filing fee shall be paid by every person whose
name appears upon the ballot at any general election, regardless of the
method pursued to secure nomination, provided, however, thar only one
filing fee shall be required from any candidate, regardless of the method
used in having his name placed upon such general election ballot.
Added Chapter 28. Laws of 1933.
Section 619. Not less than twenty-five nor more than forty days
before an election to fill any public office, the Secretary of State must
certify to the County Clerk of each county within which any of the
electors may by law vote for candidates for such office, the name and
description of each person nominated, as specified in the certificates of
nomination filed with the Secretary of State, as amended by Chapter
58, Laws of 1925.
Section 620. Whenever any person nominated for public office, as
in this chapter provided, shall at least twenty days before election,
except in the case of municipal elections, in writing, signed by him.
notify the office with whom the certificate nominating him is by this
chapter to he filed, that he declines such nomination, such nomination
shall he void. In municipal elections, such declination shall he made at
least five days before the election. As amended by Chapter 15. Laws
of 1925.
Section 621. If any person so nominated dies before the printing
of the tickets, or declines the nomination as in this chapter provided,
or if any certificate of nomination is or becomes insufficient or inopera-
tive from any cause, the vacancy or vacancies thus occasioned may he
filled in the manner required for original nomination. If the original
nomination was made by a party convention which had delegated to a
committee the power to fill vacancies, such committee may, upon the
occurring of such vacancies, proceed to fill the same. The chairman
and secretary of such committee must thereupon make and file with the
proper officer a certificate setting forth the cause of the vacancy, the
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 49
name of the person Dominated, the office f < »i- which he was nominated, the
name <>f the person for whom the new nominee Is to be substituted, the
fad that the committee was authorized to fill vacancies, and such far-
ther information as is required to be given in an original certificate of
nomination. The certificate so made must be executed in the manner
prescribed for the original certificate of nomination, and has the same
force and effect as an original certificate of nomination When such cer-
tificate is filed with the Secretary of state, he must, in certifying the
nominations to the various County Clerks, insert the name of the per-
son who has thus heen nominated to fill a vacancy in place of the
name of the original nominee. And in the event lie has already trans-
mitted his certificate, he must forthwith certify to the clerks of the
proper counties the name and description of the person so nominated
to fill a vacancy, the office he is nominated for, the party or political
principle he represents and the name of the person for whom such
nominee is substituted.
Section 622. Whenever it appears by affidavit that an error or
omission has occurred in the publication of the name or description of
a candidate nominated for office, or in the printing <>f the ballots,
the District Court of the county may, upon application of any elector,
by order require the County or Municipal Clerk to correct such error,
or to show cause why such error should not he corrected.
Section 623. No person shall be entitled to vote at any caucus, pri-
mary meeting, or election, held by any political party, except he be
an elector of the state and county within which such caucus, primary
meeting, or election is held, and a legal resident of the precinct or
district within which such caucus, primary meeting, or election is held,
and the limits of which said precinct or district are fixed and pre-
scribed by the regularly chosen and recognized representatives of the
party issuing the call for such caucus, primary meeting, or election.
Section 624. No person shall be entitled to vote at any caucus,
primary meeting, or election, who is not identified with the political
party holding such caucus, primary meeting, or election, or who does
not intend to act with such political party at the ensuing election,
whose candidates are to be nominated at such caucus or primary meet-
ing. And no person, having voted at any primary meeting or election of
any political party whose candidates are to be or have been nominated,
shall be permitted to vote at the primary meeting or election of any
other political party whose candidates are to be or have been nominated,
and to be voted for at the same general or special election.
Section 625. Three judges, who shall be legal voters in the precinct
where such caucus or primary meeting is held, shall be chosen by the
qualified voters of said precinct or district, who are present at the
opening of such caucus or primary meeting, and said judges shall lie
empowered to administer oaths and affirmations, and they shall decide
all questions relating to the qualifications of those voting or offering
to vote at such caucus or primary meeting, and they shall correctly
count all votes cast and certify the result of the same.
50 ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA
Section 626. The judges shall select one of their number who shall
act as clerk. ;m<l the clerk must keep a true record of each and every
person voting, with their residence, giving the street and number and
postoffiee address.
Section 627. Any qualified voter may challenge the right of any
person offering to vote at such caucus or primary meeting, and in the
event of such challenge, the person challenged shall swear to and sub-
scribe an oath administered by one of the judges, which oath shall be
substantially as follows :
"I do solemnly swear that I am a citizen of the United States, and
am an elector of this county and of this precinct where this primary is
now being held, that I have been and now am identified with the party
or that it is my intention bona fide to act with the party, and identify
myself with the same at the ensuing election, and that I have not voted
at any primary meeting or election of any other political party whose
candidates are to be voted for at the next general election or special
election."
If the challenged party takes the oath above prescribed he is en-
titled to vote; provided, in case a person taking the oath as aforesaid
shall intentionally make false answers to any questions put to him by
any one of the judges concerning his right to Arote at such caucus or
primary meeting or election, he shall, upon conviction be deemed guilty
of perjury, and shall be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary
for a term of not less than one year nor more than three years.
Section 628. It shall be unlawful for any judge of any caucus or
primary meeting or primary election to knowingly receive the vote of
any i>erson whom he knows is not entitled to vote, or to fraudulently
or wrongfully deposit any ballot or ballots in the ballot box. or take
any ballot or ballots from the ballot box of said caucus or primary
election, or fraudulently or wrongfully mix any ballots with those cast at
such caucus or primary election, or knowingly make any false count,
canvass, statement, or return of the ballots cast or vote taken at such
caucus or primary election.
Section 629. No person shall, by bribery or other improper means
or device, directly or indirectly, attempt to influence any elector in the
casting of any ballot at such caucus or primary meeting, or deter him
in the deposit of his ballot, or interfere or hinder any voter at sucb
caucus or primary meeting in the full and free exercise of his right
of suffrage at such caucus or primary meeting.
Section 630. Any person or persons violating any of the provisions
of this Act, except as provided in section 627, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine
of not less than Fifty Dollars, nor more than Two Hundred and Fifty
Dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not less than three months
nor more than twelve months, or by both such fine and imprisonment,
in the discretion of the court.
(See also Direct Primaries.)
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 51
PARTY NOMINATIONS BY DIRECT VOTE— THE I)IRE(T PRIMARY
Section 631. Whenever the provisions of tin's I;i\v in operation prov<
to be of doubtful or uncertain meaning, or not sufficiently explicit in
directions and details, the general laws of Montana, and especially the
election and registration laws, and the customs, practice, usage, and
form thereunder, in the same circumstances or under like conditions,
shall be followed in the construction and operation of this law, to the
end that the protection of the spirit and intention of said laws shall be
extended so far as possible to all primary elections, and especially to
all primary nominating elections provided for by this law. If this
proposed law shall be approved and enacted by the people of Montana,
the title of this bill shall stand as the title of the law.
Section 632. On the third Tuesday of July preceding any general
election (not including special elections to fill vacancies, municipal elec-
tions in towns and cities, irrigation district and school elections) at
which public officers in this state and in any district or county are to
be elected, a primary nominating election shall be held in accordance
with this law in the several election precincts comprised within the
territory for which such officers are to be elected at the ensuing election,
which shall be known as the primary nominating election, for the pur-
pose of choosing candidates by the political parties, subject to the
provisions of this law, for Senator in Congress, and all other elective
State, district and county officers, and delegates to any constitutional
convention or conventions that may hereafter be called, who are to be
chosen, at the ensuing election wholly by electors within this State, or
any subdivision of this State, and also for choosing and electing county
central committeemen by the several parties subject to the provisions
of this law.
As amended by Chapter 3, Laws of 1927.
Section 633. It shall be the duty of the County Clerk, thirty days
before any primary nominating election, to prepare printed notices of
such election, and mail two of said notices to each judge and clerk of
election in each precinct : and it shall be the duty of the several judges
and clerks immediately to post said notice in public places in their re-
spective precincts. Said notices shall be substantially in the following
form :
Primary Nominating Election Notice
Notice is hereby given that on , the
day of , 19 , at the , in the
Precinct of , in the County of ,
Montana, a primary nominating election will be held at which the (in-
sert names of political parties subject to this law) will choose their
candidates for State, district, county, precinct and other offices, namely
(here name the offices to be filled, including a Senator in Congress
when the next Legislative Assembly is to elect a Senator, delegates to
any constitutional convention then called, and candidates for county cen-
52 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
tr;il committeemen to be elected) ; which election will be held at 12
o'clock noon, and will continue until 7 o'clock in the afternoon of said
day.
Dated this day of , 19
County Clerk.
Section 084. APPLICATION OF LAW TO CITIES AND TOWNS.
The nomination of candidates for municipal offices by the political par-
ries, subject to the provisions of this law, shall lie governed by this
law in all incorporated towns and cities of this state baying a popula-
tion of thirty-five hundred and upward as shown by the last preceding
national or state census. All petitions by the members of such political
parties for placing the names of candidates for nomination for such
municipal offices on the primary nominating ballots of the several
political parties shall be filed with the City Clerk of said several towns
and cities, and it shall be the duty of such officers to prepare and
issue notices of election for such primary nominating elections in like
manner as the several County Clerks perform similar duties for nomi-
nation by such political parties for county offices at primary nominating
elections. The duties imposed by this law on the County Clerks at pri-
mary nominating elections are hereby, as to said towns and cities, desig-
nated to be the duties of the City Clerk of said towns and cities as to
primary nominating elections of the political parties, subject to the pro-
visions of this law, provided, that in cities and towns the primary nomi-
nating election shall be held on the fourteenth day preceding their
municipal elections. If no petitions for nomination under this law for
any office to be filled at the next ensuing annual city election is filed
with the City Clerk of any city, not less than .SO days before the date
fixed by law for the holding of a primary nominating election, then
there shall be no primary election held within such city, and the City
Clerk shall, not less than twenty-five days before the date fixed for
the holding of the primary nominating election, certify to the County
Clerk of the county in which such city or town is situated that no pe-
tition for nomination under the direct primary election law for any
office to be filled at the next ensuing annual election has been filed with
such City Clerk within the time provided by law. Under the provisions
of this law the lawfully constituted legislative and executive authorities
of cities and town, within the provisions of this section, shall have
such power and authority over the establishing of municipal voting pre-
cincts and wards, municipal boards of judges and clerks of election and
other officers of their said municipal election, and other matters per-
taining to municipal primary nominating elections required for such
cities and towns by this law, such legislative and executive authorities
have over the same matter at their municipal elections for choosing
the public officers of said cities and towns.
As amended by Chapter 02. Laws of 1933.
Section 635. This Act is declared to be an emergency law, and a
law necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace and
safety.
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 53
Section 636. Immediately after the closing <>f the polls at a pri-
mary nominating election, the dorks and Judges of election shall open
the ballot-boxes at each polling place and proceed to take therefrom the
ballots. Said officers shall count the number of ballots cast by each
political party, at the same time bunching the tickets cast for each
political party together in separate piles, and shall then fasten each
pile separately by means of a brass clip, or may use any means which
shall effectually fasten each pile together at the top of each ticket. As
soon as the clerks and judges have sorted and fastened together the
ballots separately for each political party, then they shall take the tally
sheets provided by the County Clerk and shall count all the ballots for
each political party separately until the count is completed, and shall
certify to the nlmber of votes for each candidate for nomination for
each office upon the ticket of each party. They shall then place the
counted ballots in a box. After all have been counted and certified to
by the clerks and judges they shall seal the returns for each of said
political parties in separate envelops, to be returned to the County
Clerk.
Section 637. Tally sheets for each political party having candidates
to be voted for at said primary nominating election shall be furnished
for each voting precinct by the County Clerk, at the same time and in
the same manner that the ballots are furnished and shall be SUb-
stantially as follows :
Tally sheet of the primary nominating election for
(name of political party) held at precinct, in the County
of on the day of
,1!)
The names of the candidates shall be placed on the tally sheets and
numbered in the order in which they appear on the official and sample
ballots, and in each case shall have the proper political party desig-
nated at the head thereof.
The following shall be the form of the tally sheets kept by the
judges, and clerks of the primary nominating election under this law.
containing the number and name of each person voted for, the par-
ticular office for nomination to which each person was voted for. the
total number of votes cast for each candidate for nomination. The
tally or count as it is kept by each of the clerks shall he audibly an-
nounced as it proceeds, and shall be kept in the manner and form as
follows :
54
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
No.
Name of
Candidate
Office
rotal Vote
Received
No.
Tally 5
No.
Tally 10
Tally 15
1fl
12
13
14
12
13
14
12
13
14
13
14
The columns for the numbers 12, 13, 14, etc., shall not be over
three-eights of an inch wide. The columns for the tallies shall be
three-eighths of an inch wide, the lines shall be three-eights of an inch
apart; every ten lines the captions of the columns shall be reprinted
between double-ruled lines in bold-face small pica, and all figures shall
be printed in bold-face small pica. The tally sheets shall conclude with
the following form of certificate :
We hereby certify that at the above primary nominating election
and polling place each of the foregoing named persons received the
number of votes set opposite his name, as above set forth, for the nomi-
nation for the office specified.
., Chairman , Clerk
(Who kept this sheet.)
., Judge
., Clerk
., Judge - , Clerk
(Who kept the other sheet.)
During the counting of the ballots each clerk shall, with pen and
ink, keep tally upon one of the above tally sheets, of each political
party, and shall total the number of tallies and write the total in ink
immediately to the right of the last tallies for each candidate, and also
in the columns headed "Total Vote," and shall prepare the certificate
thereto above indicated ; and immediately upon the completion of the
count, all the clerks shall sign the tally sheets, and each of them shall
certify which sheets were kept by him ; and the chairman and the judges,
being satisfied of the correctness of the same, shall then sign all of
said tally sheets. The clerks shall then prepare a statement of that por-
tion of the tally sheets showing the number and name and political
party of each candidate for nomination and the office and total votes
received by each in the precinct, and shall prepare the certificate thereto,
which statement shall be signed by the judges and clerks who complete
the count, and shall be immediately posted in a conspicuous place on
the outside of said polls, there to remain for ten days.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 55
Section 638. Immediately after canvassing the rotes in the manner
aforesaid, the judges and clerks who complete the count, before they
separate <>v adjourn shall Inclose the poll-hooks In separate covers and
securely seal the same. They shall also inclose the tally sheets in sep-
arate envelopes and seal the same securely. They shall also envelope all
the ballots fastened together, as aforesaid, and seal the same securely;
and they shall be in writing, with ix>n and ink. specify the contents,
and address each of said packages upon the outside thereof to the
County Clerk of the county in which the election precinct is situated.
These sealed packages of counted ballots shall be marked on the outside,
showing what numbers are contained therein, but once sealed they are
not to he opened by any one until so ordered by the proper court. When
the count is completed, the ballots counted and sealed, and enveloped
and marked for identification as aforesaid, shall be packed in the two
ballot-boxes, and nothing else shall be put into the boxes. The boxes
shall then be locked, and the official seal of the board shall be pasted
over the keyhole and over the rim of the lid of the box, so that the
box cannot be opened without breaking the seal. Thereafter neither the
County Clerk nor the canvassers making the abstracts of the votes shall
break the said seals upon the ballot boxes, nor shall any one break the
seals on the boxes or the ballots, except upon the order of the proper
court in case of contest, or upon the order of the county board when
the boxes are needed for the ensuing election.
Section 639. Every political party which has cast three per centum
(3%) or more of the total vote cast for Representative in Congress at
the next preceding general election in the county, district or state for
which nominations are proposed to be made, shall nominate its candi-
dates for public office in such county, district or state, under the pro-
visions of this law, and not in any other manner; and it shall not be
allowed to nominate any candidate in the manner provided by section
612 of this Code. Every political party and its regularly nominated
candidates, members, and officers, shall have the sole and exclusive right
to the use of the party name and the whole thereof, and no candidate
for office shall be permitted to use any word of the name of any other
political party or organization than that of and by which he is nomi-
nated. No independent or non-partisan candidate shall be permitted to
use any word of the name of any existing political party or organization
in his candidacy. The names of candidates for public office nominated
under the provisions of this law shall be printed on the official ballots
for the ensuing election as the only candidates of the respective political
parties for such public office in like manner as the names of the candi-
dates nominated by other methods are required to be printed on such
official ballots.
Any political party that did not cast three per centum (3%) or
more of the total vote cast for Representative in Congress, as above,
and any new political party about to be formed or organized, may make
nominations for public office as provided in section 612 of this code.
As amended by Chapter 7, Laws of 1927.
56 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
Section 040. Any person who shall desire to become a candidate
for nomination to any office under this law shall send by registered
mail, or otherwise, to the Secretary of State. County Clerk, or City Clerk,
a petition for nomination, signed by himself, accompanied by the filing
fee hereinafter provided for, and such petition shall be filed and shall be
conclusive evidence for the purpose of this law that such elector is a
candidate for nomination by his party. All nominating petitions per-
taining to congressional, state or district offices to be voted for in
more than one county, and for judges of the District Court shall be
filed in the offices of the Secretary of State ;. for county and district
offices, to be voted for in one county only, and for township and precinct
officers, shall be filed in the office of the County Clerk ; and for all
city offices in the office of the City Clerk.
The fees required to be paid for filing such petitions shall be as
follows :
For any office with a salary attached of One Thousand Dollars
($1,000.00) or less per annum. Ten Dollars ($10.00) ; except candidates
for the State Senate and House of Representatives shall be Fifteen
Dollars ($15.00).
For any office with a salary attached of more than One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000.00) per annum, one per cent (1%) of total amount of
annual salary.
For the office of County Commissioner in counties of the first class
Forty Dollars ($40.00) ; in counties of the second class, Thirty-five Dol-
lars ($35.00) ; in counties of the third class, Thirty Dollars ($30.00) ; in
counties of the fourth class. Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) : in all other
classes of counties Ten Dollars ($10.00).
For the office the compensation of which consists of fees instead of
a salary, Five Dollars ($5.00).
For state, county and precinct committeemen, delegates to national
conventions and presidential electors no fees shall be required to be paid.
Any person receiving the nomination by having his name written in
on the primary ballot, and desiring to accept such nomination, shall file
with the Secretary of State, county clerk, or city clerk, a written declara-
tion indicating his acceptance of said nomination within ten (10) days
after the election at which he receives such nomination, and at the same
time he shall pay to the officer with whom such declaration of accept-
ance is filed the fee above provided for filing a primary nominating
petition for such office. No candidate receiving a nomination at a pri-
mary election as above provided shall have his name printed on the
official ballot for the general election without complying with the
provisions of this section.
As amended by Chapter 125, Laws of 1927.
Section 641. The petition for nomination required by the preceding
section shall be substantially in the following form :
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 57
To (name and title of officer with whom petition
is to i>e filed). and to the members of the
party and the electors <>f the (State or counties of
comprising the district or county or city, as the
case may be) in the State of Montana:
I reside :it and my
postoffice address is I am a candidate of the
party for the nomination for the office of
at the primary nominating election to be held in the
(State of Montana or district, or county or city on the
day 1!) and if I am nominated as
the candidate of the party for such office I will accept
the nomination and will not withdraw, and if I am elected I will
qualify as such officer.
If I am nominated and elected I will, during my term of office
(Here the candidate, in not exceeding one hundred words, may state
any measure or principles he especially advocates, and the form in
which he wishes it printed after his name on the nominating ballot, in
not exceeding twelve words.)
Signature of Candidate for Nomination.
Each such petition shall he signed as above by the elector seeking
such nomination.
Section U42. 643, Repealed by Chapter 133, Laws of 1923.
Section 644. All petitions for nomination under this Act for of-
fices to lie filled by the State at large or by any district consisting of
more than one county, and nominating petitions for judges of district
courts in districts consisting of a single county, shall he filed in the
office of the Secretary of State not less than forty days before the date
of the primary nominating election: and for other offices to Ik' voted
for in only one county, or district <>r city, every such petition shall be
filed with the County Clerk or City Clerk, as the case may be, not less
than thirty days before the date of the primary nominating election. As
amended by Chapter 133, Laws of 1923.
Section 645. The Secretary of State County Clerk and City Clerk
shall keep a book entitled "Register of Candidates of Nomination at the
Primary Nominating Election." and shall enter thereon on different
pages of the hook for different political parties subject to the provi-
sions of this law, the title of the office sought and the name and resi-
dence of each candidate for nomination at the primary election: the
name of his political party ; the date of receiving the petition for nomi-
58 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
nation signed by the candidate ; the words he wishes printed after his
name on the nominating hallot, if any ; and such other information as
may aid him in arranging his official hallot for said primary nominating
election. Immediately after the canvass of votes cast at a primary nomi-
nating election is completed, the County Clerk, Secretary of State or
City Clerk, as the case may be, shall enter in his book marked "Register
of Nominations," the date of such entry, the name of each candidate
nominated, the office for which he is nominated, and the name of the
party making the nomination. As amended by Chapter 133, Laws of
1923.
Section 646. Such registers of candidates for nomination, and of
nominations and petitions, letters and notices, and other writings re-
quired by law as soon as filed, shall be public records, and shall be open
to public inspection under proper regulation and when a copy of any
such writing is presented at the time the original is filed, or at any
time thereafter, and a request is made to have such copy compared and
certified, the officers with whom such writing was filed shall forth-
with compare such copy with the original on file, and, if necessary,
correct the copy and certify and deliver the copy to the person who
presented it on payment of his lawful fees therefor. All such writings,
poll-books, tally sheets, ballots, and ballot stubs pertaining to primary
nominating elections under the provisions of this Act shall be preserved
as other records are for two years after the election to which they per-
tain, at which time, unless otherwise ordered or restrained by some
court, the County Clerk shall destroy the ballots and ballot stubs, by
fire, without any one inspecting the same.
Section 647. The provisions of sections 620 and 621 of this Code
shall apply to nominations, or petitions for nominations, made under
the provisions of this law, in ease of the death of the candidate or
his removal from the State or his county or electoral district before
the date of the ensuing election, but in no other case. In case of any
such vacancy by death or removal from the State, or from the county
or electoral district, such vacancy may be filled by the committee which
has been given power by the political party or this law to fill such
vacancies substantially in the manner provided by said sections 620 and
621 of this Code.
Section 64S. Arrangement and notice of nominations. Not more
than forty days and not less than twenty-five days before the day
fixed by law for the primary nominating election the Secretary of State
shall arrange, in the manner provided by this law, for the arrangement
of the names and other information upon the ballots, all the names of
and information concerning all the candidates for nomination contained
in the valid petitions for nomination which have been filed with him
in accordance with the provisions of this law, and he shall forthwith
certify the same under the seal of the State, and file the same in his
office, and make and transmit a duplicate thereof by registered letter
to the County Clerk of each county in the State, and he shall also post
a duplicate thereof in a conspicuous place in his office and keep the
same posted until after said primary nominating election has taken
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 59
place. In ease of emergency the Secretary of State may transmit such
duplicate by telegraph. As amended by Chapter 12, Laws of 1925.
Section 64!). Arrangement of ballots and notice Nol more than
thirty days, and not less than twenty days before the day fixed by
law for the primary nominating election, the County Clerk of each
county, or the City Clerk of each city, as the case may lie. subject to
the provisions of this law. shall arrange in the manner provided by this
law for the arrangement of the names and other information concerning
all the candidates and parties named in the valid petitions for nomina-
tion which have been filed with him and those which have been certified
to him by the Secretary of State, in accordance with the provisions of
this law; and he shall forthwith certify the same under the official
seal of his office, and file the same in his office, and make and post
a duplicate thereof in a conspicuous place in his office, and keep the
same posted until after the primary nominating election has taken place :
and he shall forthwith proceed and cause to be printed, according to
law, the colored sample ballots and the official ballots required by this
law. As amended by Chapter 12, Laws of 192").
Section 650. All blanks, ballots, poll-books and other supplies to be
used at any primaries shall be provided, and all expenses necessarily-
incurred in the preparation for, or conducting such primaries shall be
paid out of the treasury of the county in the same manner and by the
same officers as in the case of elections. Not later than one day next
preceding any primary the County Clerk must furnish one of the
judges of the primaries in each precinct with a copy of the official
register and a check list for the precinct.
Section 651. At all primary elections there shall be a ballot made
up of the several party tickets herein provided for, each of which shall
be printed on a separate sheet of white paper, and all of which shall
be the same size, and shall be securely fastened together at the top and
folded, provided that there shall be as many separate tickets as there
are parties entitled to participate in said primary election.
The names of all candidates shall be arranged alphabetically accord-
ing to surnames, under the appropriate title of the respective officers,
and under the proper party designation upon the party ticket, except
as hereinafter provided. When two or more persons are candidates for
nomination for the same office, it shall be the duty of the County
Clerk in each of the Counties of the State to divide the ballot forms
provided by the law for the county, into sets so as to provide a sub-
stantial rotation of the names of the respective candidates as follows:
He shall divide the whole number of ballot forms for the county
into sets equal in number to the greatest number of candidates for the
nomination or election to any office, and he shall so arrange said sets
that the names of the candidates shall, beginning with a form arranged
in alphabetical order as provided herein, be rotated by removing one
name from the top of the list for each nomination or office and placing
said name or number at the bottom of the list for each successive set
of ballot forms; provided, however, that no more than one of said sets
60 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
shall be used in printing the ballots for use in any one precinct, and
that all ballots furnished for use in any precinct shall be of one form
and identical in every respect. If any elector write upon his ticket the
name of any person who is a candidate for the same office upon some
other ticket than that upon which his name is so written this ballot
shall be counted for such person only as a candidate of the party upon
whose ticket his name is written, and in no case shall be counted for
such person as a candidate upon any other ticket. In case any person
is nominated as provided in this Act, upon more than one ticket, he shall
within ten (10) days after such election file with the Secretary of State.
County Clerk or City Clerk, a written document indicating the party
designation under which his name is to be printed on the official ballot
for the general election, failing in which, his name shall be printed
upon the party ticket for which his nominating petition shall have been
first filed, and no candidate shall have his name printed on more than
one ticket ; provided, however, that in the event a candidate whose name
has been printed upon the party ticket for which his nominating petition
shall have been first filed shall fail of nomination upon the ticket upon
which his name is so printed, his name shall not be printed upon any
ballot under any party designation ; and provided further that nothing
in this Act shall preclude any elector from having his name printed
upon the ballot as an Independent Candidate. The ballots with the en-
dorsements shall be printed on white paper in substantially the forms
of the Australian Ballot, used in general elections, except that the candi-
dates of each party shall be printed on a separate ticket or sheet. After
preparing his ballot the elector shall detach the same from the remaining
tickets and fold it so that its face will be concealed and with official
stamp thereon seen. The remaining tickets attached together shall be
folded in like manner by the elector who shall thereupon, without leav-
ing the polling place, vote the marked ballot forthwith, and deposit the
remaining tickets in the separate ballot box to be marked and designated
as the blank ballot box. Immediately after the canvass, the Judges of
I he Election shall, without examination, destroy the tickets deposited in
the blank ballot box. As amended by Chapter 67, Laws of 1929.
Section 652. There shall be printed and furnished for each election
precinct a number of ballots equal to the number of voters registered
in such voting precinct and entitled to vote at such primary nominat-
ing election.
If any political party shall desire sample ballots its political com-
mittee may order the same from the County Clerk or City Clerk who
shall collect from such committee an amount sufficient to pay the cost
of printing such sample ballots, and such sample ballots after being
printed, shall, on the written order of the clerk, be delivered to the
committee ordering the same, but no such sample ballots shall be
printed except on the order of the County or City Clerk. The sample
ballots shall be duplicate impressions of the official ballots to be voted,
but in no case shall they be white, nor shall said sample ballots have
perforated stubs, nor shall they have the same margin either at the top
or sides or bottom as the official ballots have, or nearer thereto than
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 61
twelve points, and the names of the candidates on the tickets compos
Ing the same shall not be rotated as required Cor the official ballots, but
shall be Impressions of the tickets belonging to lot one of each party.
As amended by Chapter 133, Laws of 1!>23.
Section 653, Repealed by Chapter 163, Laws of 1935.
Section 654. On the third day after the close of any primary nomi-
nating election, or sooner if all the returns be received, the County
Clerk, taking to his assistance two Justices of the Peace of the county
of different political parties, if practicable, shall proceed to open said
returns and make abstracts of the votes. Such abstracts of votes for
nomination for Governor and for Senator in Congress shall be on one
separate sheet for each political party, and shall be immediately trans-
mitted to the Secretary of State in like manner as other election returns
are transmitted to him. Such abstract of votes for nomination of each
party for Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney-General, State
Auditor. Superintendent of Public Instruction, Railroad Commissioners.
Clerk of the Supreme Court. State Treasurer. Justices of the Supreme
Court, members of Congress, Judges of the District Court, and members
of the Legislative Assembly, who are to be nominated from a district
composed of more than one county, shall be on one sheet, separately
for each political party, and shall be forthwith transmitted to the Secre-
tary of State, as required by the following section. The abstract of
votes for county and precinct offices shall be on another sheet separately
for each political party : and it shall be the duty of said clerk imme-
diately to certify the nomination for each party and enter upon his
register of nominations the name of each of the persons having the
highest numlter of votes for nomination as candidates for members of the
Legislative Assembly, county and precinct offices, respectively, and to
notify by mail each person who is so nominated: provided, that when a
tie shall exist between two or more persons for the same nomination by
reason of said two or more persons having an equal and the highest
number of votes for nomination by one party to one and the same office,
the County Clerk shall give notice to the several persons so having the
highest and equal number of votes to attend at his office at a time to
be appointed by said clerk, who shall then and there proceed publicly to
decide by lot which of the persons so having an equal number of votes
shall be declared nominated by his party; and said clerk shall forth-
with enter upon his register of nominations the name of the persons
thus duly nominated, in like manner as though he had received the
highest number of votes of his party for that nomination: and it shall
be the duty of the County Clerk of every county on receipt of the returns
of any general primary nominating election, to make out his certificate
stating therein the compensation to which the judges and clerks of elec-
tion may he entitled for their services, and lay the same before the county
Board of County Commissioners at its next term, and the said Board
shall order the compensation aforesaid to be paid out of the county
treasury. In all primary nominating elections in this State, under the
provisions of this law. the person having the highest number of votes
62 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
for nomination to any office shall be deemed to have been nominated by
liis political party for that office.
Section 655. The County Clerk, immediately after making the ab-
stracts of votes given in his county, shall make a copy of each of said
abstracts and transmit it by mail to the Secretary of State, at the
seat of government; and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State,
in the presence of the Governor and the State Treasurer, to proceed
within fifteen days after the primary nominating election, and sooner, if
all returns be received, to canvass the votes given for nomination for
Governor, Senator in Congress, Lieutenant-Governor, Attorney-General.
Supreintendent of Public Instruction, Railroad Commissioners, Secretary
of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, Justices of the Supreme Court.
Clerk of the Supreme Court, members of Congress. Judges of the Dis-
trict Court, Senators and Representatives, and all other officers to be
voted for by the people of the State, or of any district comprising more
than one county ; and the Governor shall grant a certificate of nomina-
tion to the person having the highest number of votes for each office,
and shall issue a proclamation declaring the nomination of each person
by his party. In case there shall be no choice for nomination for any
office by reason of any two of more persons having an equal and the
highest number of votes of his party for nomination for either of said
offices, the Secretary of State shall immediately give notice to the sev-
eral persons so having the highest and equal number of votes to attend
at his office, either in person or by attorney, at a time to be appointed
by said Secretary, who shall then and there proceed to publicly decide by
lot which of said persons so having an equal number of votes shall be
declared duly nominated by his party; and the Governor shall issue his
proclamation declaring the nomination of such person or persons, as
above provided.
Section 656. Whenever it shall appear by affidavit to the District
Court or Judge thereof, or to the Supreme Court or Judge thereof, that
an error or omission has occurred or is about to occur in the printing
of the name of any candidate or other matter on the official primary
nominating election ballots, or that any error has been or is about to
be committed in the printing of the ballots, or that the name of any
person or any other matter has been or is about to be wrongfully placed
upon such ballots, or that any wrongful act has been performed by
any judge or clerk of the primary election, County Clerk, canvassing
board or member thereof, or by any person charged with the duty under
this Act, or that any neglect of duty by any of the persons aforesaid
has occurred or is about to occur, such court or judge shall by order re-
quire the officer or person or persons charged with the error, wrongful
act, or neglect, to forthwith correct the error, desist from the wrongful
act, or perform the duty and do as the court shall order, or show cause
forthwith why such error should not be corrected, wrongful act desisted
from, or such duty or order performed. Failure to obey the order of any
such court or judge shall be contempt. Any person in interest or ag-
grieved by the refusal or failure of any person to perform any duty or
act required by this law shall, without derogation to any other right or
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 63
remedy, l>e entitled to pray for ;i mandamus in the District Court of
appropriate jurisdiction, and any proceedings under the provisions of
this law shall be immediately heard and decided.
Section 057. If the returns and abstracts of the primary nominat-
ing election of any county in the State shall not be received at the office
of the Secretary of State within twelve days after said election, the
Secretary of State shall forthwith send a messenger to the county board
of such county, whose duty it shall be to furnish said messenger with
a copy of said returns, and the said messenger shall he paid out of
the county treasury of such county the sum of twenty cents for each
mile he shall necessarily travel in going to and returning from said
county. The County Clerk, whenever it shall be necessary for him to do
so in order to send said returns and abstracts within the time above
limited, may send the same by telegraph, the message to be repeated,
and the county shall pay the expense of such telegram.
Section 60S. If any judge or clerk of a primary nominating election,
or other officers or persons on whom any duty is enjoined by this law,
shall be guilty of any wilful neglect of such duty, or of any corrupt
conduct in the discharge of the same, such judge, clerk, officer or other
person, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in
the penitentiary not less than one year nor more than five years, or
by imprisonment in the county jail not less than three months nor
more than one year, or by fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars
nor more than Five Hundred Dollars.
Section 659. Any person wishing to contest the nomination of any
other person to any State, county, district, township, precinct, or muni-
cipal office may give notice in writing to the person whose nomination
he intends to contest that his nomination will he contested stating the
cause of such contest briefly, within five days from the time said person
shall claim to have been nominated.
Section 660. Said notice shall be served in the same manner as a
summons issued out of the District Court three days before any hear-
ing upon such contest as herein provided shall take place, and shall
state the time and place that such hearing shall be had. Upon the return
of said notice served to the Clerk of the Court he shall thereupon enter
the same upon his issue docket as an appeal case, and the same shall be
heard forthwith by the District Court; provided, that if the case can
not be determined by the District Court in term time, within fifteen days
after the termination of such primary nominating election, the Judge of
the District Court may hear and determine the same at chambers forth-
with, and shall make all necessary orders for the trial of the case and
carrying his judgment into effect; provided, that the District Court pro-
vision of this section shall not apply to township or precinct officers.
In case of contest between axiy persons claiming to be nominated to
any township or precinct office, said notice shall be served in the manner
aforesaid, and shall be returned to the District Court of the county.
Section 661. Each party to such contest shall be entitled to sub-
64 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
poena*, ami subpoenas duces tecum, as in ordinary cases of law: and
the court shall hear and determine the same without the intervention
of a jury, in such manner as shall carry into effect the expressed will
of a majority of the legal voters of the political party, as indicated by
their votes for such nominations, not regarding technicalities or errors
in spelling the name of any candidate for such nomination: and the
County Clerk shall issue a certificate to the person declared to he duly
nominated by said court, which shall he conclusive evidence of the right
of said person to hold said nomination ; provided, that the judgment or
decision of the District Court in term time, or a decision of the Judg°
thereof in vacation, as the case may he, may he removed to the Supreme
Court in such manner as may be provided for removing such causes
from the District Court to the Supreme Court.
Section 662. COUNTY AND CITY GENERAL COMMITTEEMEN.
HOW ELECTED. There shall he elected by each political party, suh-
ject to the provisions of this law, at said primary nominating election,
two committeemen, one of which shall he a man and one of which shall
be a woman, for each election precinct who shall he residents of such
precincts. Any elector may he placed in nomination for Committeemen
of any precinct by a writing so stating, signed by such elector, and filed
in the office of the County Clerk within the time required in this Act
for the filing of petitions naming individuals as candidates for nomi-
nation at the regular biennial primary election. The names of the
various candidates for Precinct Committeemen of each political party
shall he printed on the ticket of the same in the same manner as
other candidates and the voter shall express his choice among them in
like manner as for such other candidates. The Committeemen thus
elected shall he the representatives of their political party in and for
such precinct in all Ward or Subdivision Committees that may he
formed. The Committeemen elected in each precinct in each county shall
constitute the County Central Committee of each of said respective
political parties. Those Committeemen who reside within the limits of
any incorporated city or town shall constitute ex-officio the City Central
Committee of each of said respective political parties and shall have
the same power and jurisdiction as to the husiness of their several
parties in such city matters that the County Committees have in county
matters, save only the power to fill vacancies in said Committee, which
power is vested in the County Central Committee. Each Committeeman
Shall hold such position for the term of two years from the date of the
first meeting of said Committee immediately following their election.
In case of a vacancy happening, on account of death, resignation, re-
moval from tin- precinct, or otherwise, the remaining members of said
County Committee may select a Committeeman to fill the vacancy and
he shall he a resident of the precinct in which the vacancy occurred.
Said County and City Central Committees shall have the power to make
rules and regulations for the government of their respective political
parties in each county and city, not inconsistent with any of the pro-
visions of this law, and to elect two county members of the State Central
Committee, one of which shall he a man and one of which shall be a
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 65
woman, and the members of the Congressional Committee, and said Com-
mittee Shall have the Same power to fill all vacancies and make rides
in their jurisdiction that the County Committees have to fill county va-
cancies and l<> make rules. Said County and City Central Committee
shall have the power to make nomination to fill vacancies occurring
among the candidates of their respective parties nominated for city or
county offices by the primary nominating election where such vacancy
is caused by death or removal from the electoral district, or otherwise.
Said Committees shall meet and organize by electing a Chairman and
Secretary within thirty days after the candidates of their respective
political parties shall have heon nominated. They may select managing
or executive committees and authorize such suh-committees to exercise
any and all powers conferred upon the County. City, State and Con-
gressional Central Committees respectively by this law. The Chairman
of the County Central Committee shall call said Central Committee meet-
ing and not less than fifteen days before the date of said Central
Committee meeting shall publish said call in a newspaper published at
the county seat and shall mail a copy of the call, enclosing a blank
proxy, to each Precinct Committeeman. No proxy shall be recognized
unless held by an elector of the precinct of the Committeeman executing
the same.
As amended by Chapter 6, Laws of 1933.
Section 663. The State Central Committee of each political party in
the State of Montana shall select one national committeeman and one
national committeewoman. The chairman of the State Central Com-
mittee shall at once file with the national committee the names of the
national committeeman and national committeewoman so selected, and it
shall be the duty of the chairman of the delegation to the national con-
vention of each political party to report to the national convention the
names of the persons so selected to he the national committeeman and
the national committeewoman of his political party for the State of Mon-
tana. Said committeeman and committeewoman shall represent said po-
litical party as members of the national committee of said party and
shall be selected in each year in which a president and vice-president of
the United States are elected, and such selection shall be made prior to
the meeting of the national conventions of the respective political par-
ties. The national committeeman and committeewoman shall hold office
for a term of four years. As amended by Chapter 159, Laws of 1925.
Section 664. Upon the passage and approval of this Act, the State
Central Committee of each political party shall select a national com-
mitteeman who shall hold office from the date of his selection until
the year 1924, and until the selection of his successor.
Section 665. If any candidate for nomination shall be guilty of any
wrongful or unlawful act or acts at a primary nominating election
which would lie sufficient, if such wrongful or unlawful act or acts had
been done by such candidate at the regular general election, to cause his
removal from office, he shall, upon conviction thereof, be removed from
office in like manner as though such wrongful or unlawful act or acts
66 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
had been committed at a regular general election, notwithstanding that
he may have been regularly elected and shall not have been guilty of
any wrongful or unlawful act at the election at which he shall have
been elected to his office.
Section 606. The candidates for the various State offices, and for
the United States Senate. Representatives in Congress and the Legis-
lative Assembly nominated by each political party at such primary,
and Senators of such political party, whose term of office extends be-
yond the first Monday in January of the year next ensuing, and the
members of the State Central Committee of such political party, shall
meet at the call of the chairman of the State Central Committee not
later than September fifteenth next preceding any general election. They
shall forthwith formulate the State platform of their party. They shall
thereupon proceed to elect a chairman of the State Central Committee
and perform such other business as may properly be brought before
such meeting.
Section 667. Any person who shall offer, or with knowledge of the
same permit any person to offer for his benefit, any bribe to a voter
to induce him to sign any nomination paper, and any i>erson who shall
accept any such bribe or promise of gain of any kind in the nature
of a bribe as consideration for signing the same, whether such bribe
or promise of gain in the nature of a bribe In- offered or accepted
before or after such signing, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and
upon trial and conviction thereof be punished by a fine of not less than
Twenty-five nor more than One Thousand Dollars, and by imprison-
ment in the county jail of not less than ten days nor more than six
months.
Section 668. Any act declared ;in offense by the general laws of
this State concerning caucuses, primaries and elections shall also, in
like case, be an offense in and as to all primaries as herein defined,
and shall be punished in the same form and manner as therein provided,
and all the penalties and provisions of the law as to such caucuses, pri-
maries and elections, except as herein otherwise provided, shall apply
in such case with equal force, and to the same extent as though fully
set forth in this Act.
Section 660. Any person who shall forge any name of a signer or
a witness to a nomination paper shall be guilty of forgery, and on con-
viction punished accordingly. Any person who. being in possession of
nomination papers entitled to be filed under this Act. or any Act of
the Legislature, shall wrongfully either suppress, neglect or fail to
cause the same to Ik- filed at the proper time in the proper office, shall,
on conviction. Ik- punished by imprisonment in the county jail not to
exceed six months, or by a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars,
or by both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court.
Section 670. The provisions of the laws of this State now in force
in relation to the holding of elections, the solicitation of voters at
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 67
the polls, the challenging <>t" voters, the manner of conducting elections,
of counting the ballots and making return thereof, the appointment
and compensation of officers of election, and all other kindred subjects.
shall apply to all primaries, insofar as they are consistent with this
Act. the intent of this Act being to place the primary under the regula-
tion and protection of the laws now in force as to elections.
BALLOTS, PREPARATION AND FORM
Section 077. All ballots cast in elections for public offices within
the State (except school district officers), must Ik- printed and dis-
tributed at public expense as provided in this chapter. The printing of
ballots and cards of instruction for the elections in each county, and
the delivery of the same to the election officer is a county charge, and
the expense thereof must be paid in the same manner as the payment
of other county expenses, but the expense of printing and delivering the
bailors must, in the case of municipal elections, be a charge upon the
city or town in which such election is held.
Section 678. Except as in this chapter otherwise provided, it is
the duty of the County Clerk of each county to provide printed bailors
for every election for public officers in which electors or any of the
electors within the county participate, and to cause to be printed in the
ballot the name of every candidate whose name has been certified to or
filed with the County Clerk in the manner provided for in this chapter.
Ballots other than those printed by the respective County Clerks accord-
ing to the provisions of this chapter must not be cast or counted in any
election. Any elector may write or paste on his ballot the name of any
person for whom he desires to vote for any office, and must mark the
same as provided in section 696, and such vote must be counted the
same as if printed upon the ballot and marked by the voter, and any
voter may take with him into the polling place any printed or written
memorandum or paper to assist him in marking or preparing his ballot
except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
Section 679. In all municipal elections the City Clerk must perform
all the duties prescribed for County Clerks in this chapter.
Section 6S0. When any vacancy occurs before election day and
after the printing of the ballots, and any person is nominated accord-
ing to the provisions of this code to fill such vacancy, the officer whose
duty it is to have the ballots printed and distributed must thereupon
have printed a requisite number of pasters containing the name of the
new nominee, and must mail them by registered letter to the judges
of election in the various precincts interested in such election, and the
judges of election, whose duty it is made by the provisions of this chap-
ter to distribute the ballots, must affix such pasters over the name for
which substitution is made in the proper place on each ballot before it
is given out to the elector.
Section 681. Ballots prepared under the provisions of this chapter
must be white in color and of a good quality of paper, and the names
68
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
must be printed thereon in black ink. The ballots used it> any one
county must be uniform in size, and every ballot must contain the
names of every candidate whose nomination for any special office speci-
fied in the ballot has been certified or filed according to the provisions
of law, and no other names. The list of candidates of the several parties
shall be placed in separate columns of the ballot, in such order as the
authorities charged with the printing of the ballots shall decide. As
near as possible the ballot shall be in the following form: (Stub herein-
after provided for in this section.)
- Perforated Line
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLICAN
LABOR PARTY
For Governor
1 Joseph K. Toole
□
For Governor
i 1 John E. Richards
□
For Governor
Fred Whiteside
□
For Lieut-Governor
1 Frank 0. Higgins
□
For Lieut-Governor
Alex C. Botkin
□
For Lieut-Governor
□
□
For
Secretary of State
Geo. M. Hayes
For Secretary of State
1 Louis Rotwitt
For Secretary of State
W. H. Allen
And continuing in like manner as to all candidates to be voted for at
such election.
Section 682. Every ballot must also contain the name of the party,
or principle, which the candidates in the respective columns represent,
as contained in the certificates of nomination ; provided, however, that
where any person is nominated for the same office by more than one
party or convention, his name shall be placed upon the ticket under the
designation of the party which first nominated him, unless he declines,
in writing, one or more of such nominations, or by written election in-
dicates the party designation under which he desires his name to be
printed, or if he was nominated by more than one party or convention
at the same time shall, within the time fixed by law for filing certifi-
cates of nomination, file with the officer with whom his certificate of
nomination is required to be filed a written election indicating the
party designation under which he desires his name to be printed on the
ballot, and it shall be so printed. If he shall fail or neglect to so file
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 69
such an election, the officer with whom the certificate of nomination is
required to be filed shall place his name under the designation of either
of the parties by which he was nominated, l>ut under no other desig-
nation whatever, and no person, who lias been nominated hy petition or
otherwise, shall have his name printed upon the ticket if the same
already appears under a party designation.
Section 683. Below the names of candidates for each office there
must be left a blank space large enough to contain as many written
names of candidates as there are persons to be elected. There must be
a margin on each side of at least half an inch in width, and a reason-
able space between the names printed thereon, so that the voter may
clearly indicate, in the way hereinafter provided, the candidate or
candidates for whom he wishes to cast his ballot.
Section 684. The ballot shall he printed on the same leaf with a
stuh, and separated therefrom hy a perforated line. The part above
the perforated line, designated as the stub, shall extend the entire width
of the hallot, and shall be of sufficient depth to allow the following
instructions to voters to be printed thereon, such depth to he not 1< se
than two inches from the perforated line to the top thereof, upon the
face of which stub shall be printed, in type known as brevier capitals,
the following: "This ballot should be marked with an 'X' in the square
hefore the name of each person or candidate for whom the elector in-
tends to vote. In cases of a ballot containing a constitutional amend-
ment, or other question to he submitted to a vote of the people by mark-
ing an 'X' in the square before the answer of the question or amend-
ment submitted. The elector may write in the blank spaces, or paste
over another name, the name of any person for whom he wishes to vote,
and vote for such person by marking an 'X' in the square before such
name.'' On the back of the stub shall be printed or stamped by the
County Clerk, or other officer whose duty it is to provide the ballots,
the consecutive number of the ballot, beginning with numlier "1," and
increasing in regular numerical order to the total number of ballots
required for the precinct.
Section 685. All of the official ballots of the same sort, prepared
by any officer or board for the same balloting place, shall be precisely
the same size, arrangement, quality and tint of paper, and kind of type,
and shall be printed in black ink of the same tint, so that when the
stubs, numbered as aforesaid, shall be detached therefrom it shall be
impossible to distinguish any one of the ballots from the other ballots
of the same sort, and the names of all candidates printed upon the
ballot shall be in type of the same size and character.
Section 686. Whenever the Secretary of State has duly certified
to the County Clerk any question to be submitted to the vote of the
people, the County Clerk must print the ballot in such form as will
enable the electors to vote upon the question so presented in the manner
provided by law. The County Clerk must also prepare the necessary
ballots whenever any question is required by law to be submitted to the
70 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
electors of any locality, and any of the electors of the State generally,
except that as to all questions submitted to the electors of a municipal
corporation alone the City Clerk must prepare the necessary ballots.
Section 687. The County Clei'k must provide for each election pre-
cinct in the county ten more than an equal number of ballots as there
are electors registered in the precinct. If there is no registry in the
precinct, the County Clerk must provide ballots equal to the number
of electors who voted at the last preceding election in the precinct,
unless in the judgment of the County Clerk a greater number be needed,
but in no case to exceed one and one-half times as many as the number
of registered voters in the precinct. He must keep a record in his
office, showing the exact number of ballots, that are delivered to the
judges of each precinct. In municipal elections it is the duty of the
City Clerk to provide ballots as specified in this section. As amended
by Chapter 16, Laws of 1925.
CONDUCTING ELECTIONS: THE POLLS, VOTING AND
CHALLENGES
Section 688. Voting may commence as soon as the polls are open,
and may be continued during all the time the polls remain open.
Section 689. TIME OF OPENING AND CLOSING OF POLLS. The
polls must be opened at eight o'clock on the morning of election day
and must be kept open continuously until six o'clock in the afternoon
of said day, when the same must be closed ; provided that in precincts
having less than one hundred (100) registered electors the polls must
be opened at one o'clock in the afternoon of election day and must be
kept open continuously until six o'clock in the afternoon of said day.
when they must be closed; provided, further, that whenever all regis-
tered electors in any precinct have voted the polls shall be imme-
diately closed.
As amended by Chapter 3, Laws of 1935.
Section 690. Before the judges receive any ballots they must cause
it to be proclaimed aloud at the place of election that the polls are
open, and thirty minutes before the closing of the polls proclamation
must be made that the polls will close in one-half hour.
Section 691. When polls are closed, that fact must be proclaimed
aloud at the place of election; and after such proclamation no ballots
must be received.
Section 692. All officers upon whom is imposed by law the duty
of designating the polling-places must provide in each polling-place des-
ignated by them, a sufficient number of places, booths, or compart-
ments, each booth or compartment to be furnished with a door or cur-
lain sufficient in character to screen the voter from observation, and
must be furnished with such supplies and conveniences as shall enable
the elector to prepare his ballot for voting, and in which electors must
mark their ballots, screened from observation, and a guard-rail so con-
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
71
structed thai only persona within such rail can approach within ten
feel ol the ballot-boxes, or the places, booths, or compartments herein
provided for. The number of such places, booths, or compartments must
not be less than one for every fifty electors, or fraction thereof, regis-
tered in the precinct. In precincts containing less than twenty-five reg-
istered voters, the election may he conducted under the provisions of
this chapter without the preparation of such booths or compartments, as
required by this section.
Section 693. No person other than electors engaged in receiving,
pi-eparing. or depositing their ballots, or a person present for the pur-
pose of challenging the vote of an elector about to cast his ballot, is
permitted to be within said rail ; and in cases of small precincts where
places, booths, or compartments are not required, no person engaged in
preparing his ballot shall, in any way. he interfered with by any person.
unless it be some one authorized by the provisions of this chapter to
assist him in preparing his ballot ; nor shall any officer of election do
any electioneering on election day. No person whatsoever shall do any
electioneering on election day, within any polling-place, or any building
in which an election is being held, or within twenty-five feet thereof;
said space of twenty-five feet to he protected by ropes and kept free
of trespassers; nor shall any person obstruct the doors or entries thereto.
or prevent free ingress to and egress from said building. Any election
officer, sheriff, constable, or other peace officer is hereby authorized
and empowered, and it is hereby made his duty, to clear the passageway.
and prevent such obstruction, and to arrest any person so doing. No
person shall remove any ballot from the polling-place before the closing
of the polls. No person shall show his ballot after it is marked, to any
person, in such a way as to reveal the contents thereof, or the name of
the candidate or candidates for whom he has marked his vote; nor shall
any person solicit the elector to show the same; nor shall any person,
except the judge of election, receive from any elector a ballot prepared
for voting. No elector shall receive a ballot from any other person than
one of the judges of election having charge of the ballots ; nor shall any
person other than such judge of election deliver a ballot to such elector.
No elector shall vote, or offer to vote, any ballot except such as he
has received from the judges of election having charge of the ballots.
No elector shall place any mark upon his ballot by which it may after-
wards be identified as the one voted by him. Every elector who does
not vote a ballot delivered to him by the judges of election having charge
of the hallots, shall, before leaving the polling-place, return such ballot
to such judges.
Section 694. The expense of providing such places or compartments,
ropes, and guard-rails is a public charge, and must he provided for in
the same manner as the other election expenses.
Section 695. At any election the judges of election must designate
two of their number whose duty it is to deliver ballots to the qualified
electors. Before delivering any ballot to an elector, the said judges must
print on the back, and near the top of the ballot, with the rubber or
72 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
other stamp provided for the purpose, the designation "official ballot''
and the other words on same, as provided for in Section 603 of this
( 'ode ; and the clerks must enter on the poll-lists the name of such
elector and the number of the stub attached to the ballot given him.
Each qualified elector must be entitled to receive from the judges one
ballot.
Section 696. On receipt of his ballot the elector must forthwith
without leaving the polling-place and within the guard-rail provided,
and alone, retire to one of the places, booths, or compartments, if such
are provided, and prepare his ballot. He shall prepare his ballot by
marking an "X" in the square before the name of the person or persons
for whom he intends to vote. In case of a ballot containing a constitu-
tional amendment, or other question to be submitted to the vote of the
people, by marking an "X" in the square before the answer of the ques-
tion or amendment submitted. The elector may write in the blank
spaces or paste over any other name the name of any person for whom
he wishes to vote, and vote for such person by marking an "X"' before
such name. No elector is at liberty to use or bring into the polling-
place any unofficial sample ballot. After preparing his ballot the elector
must fold it so the face of the ballot will be concealed and so that
the endorsement stamped thereon may be seen, and hand the same to
the judges in charge of the ballot-box, who shall announce the name of
the elector and the printed or stamped number on the stub of the offi-
cial ballot so delivered to him, in a loud and distinct tone of voice.
If such elector be entitled then and there to vote, and if such printed
or stamped number is the same as that entered on the poll-list as the
number on the stub of the official ballot last delivered to him by the
ballot judge, such judge shall receive such ballot, and, after removing
the stub therefrom in plain sight of the elector, and without removing
any other part of the ballot, or in any way exposing any part of the
face thereof below the stub, shall deposit each ballot in the proper ballot-
box for the reception of voted ballots, and the stubs in a box for de-
tached ballot stubs. Upon voting, the elector shall forthwith pass outside
the guard-rail, unless he be one of the persons authorized to remain
within the guard-rail for other purposes than voting.
Section 697. No more than one person must be allowed to occupy
any one l>ooth at one time, and no person must remain in or occupy
a booth longer than may be necessary to prepare his ballot, and in no
event longer than five minutes, if the other booths or compartments
are occupied.
Section 698. Any elector who by accident or mistake spoils his
ballot, may, on returning said spoiled ballot, receive another in place
thereof.
Section 699. Any elector who declares to the judges of election, or
when it appears to the judges of election that he cannot read or write,
or that because of blindness or other physical disability he is unable
to mark his ballot, but for no other cause, must, upon request, receive
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 73
Hie assistance of two of the judges, who shall represenl dlfferenl par-
ties, in the marking thereof, and such judges must certify on the out-
side thereof that it was so marked with their assistance, and must
thereafter give no information regarding the same. The judges must
require such declaration of disability to he made by the elector under
oath before them, and they are hereby authorized to administer the
same. No elector other than the one who may. because of his Inability
to read or write, or of his blindness or physical disability, be unable to
mark his ballot, must divulge to any one within the polling-place the
name of any candidate for whom he intends to vote, or ask or receive
the assistance of any person within the polling-place in the preparation
of his ballot.
Section TOO. The person offering to vote must hand his ballot to
the judges, and announce his name, and in incorporated cities and
towns any such person must also give the name of the street, avenue,
or location of his residence, and the number thereof, if it be numbered,
or such clear and definite description of the place of such residence as
shall definitely fix the same.
Section 701. The judges must receive the ballot, and before deposit-
ing it in the ballot-box must, in an audible tone of voice, announce the
name, and in incorporated towns and cities the judges must also an-
nounce the resident of the person voting, and the same must be recorded
on each poll-book.
Section 702. If the name be found on the official register in use
at the precinct where the vote is offered, or if the person offering to
vote produce and surrender a proper registry certificate, and the vote
is not rejected, upon a challenge taken, the judges must immediately
and publicly, in the presence of all the judges, place the ballot, without
opening or examining the same, in the ballot-box.
Section 703. When the ballot has been placed in the box, one of
the judges must write the word "Voted" opposite the number of the
person on the check-list for the precinct.
Section 704. The judges of election in each precinct, at every gen-
eral or special election, shall, in the precinct register book, which shall
be certified to them by the County Clerk, mark a cross (X) upon the
line opposite to the name of the elector. Before any elector is per-
mitted to vote, the judges of election shall require the elector to sign
his name upon one of the precinct register books, designated by the
County Clerk for that purpose, and in a column reserved in the said
precinct books for the signature of electors. If the elector is not able
to sign his name, he shall be required by the judges to produce two
freeholders who shall make an affidavit, before the judges of election,
or one of them, in substantially the following form :
74 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
STATE OF MONTANA, ]
{• ss.
County of J
"We, the undersigned witnesses, do swear that our names and sig-
natures are genuine, and that we are each personally acquainted with
(the name of the elector), and
that we know that he is residing at , and
that we helieve that he is entitled to vote at this election, and that we
are each freeholders in the county," which affidavit shall lie filed by
the judges, and returned by them to the County Clerk, with the return
of the election ; one of the judges shall thereupon write the elector's
name, and note the fact of his inability to sign, and the names of the
two freeholders who made the affidavit herein provided for. If the
elector fails or refuses to sign his name, and. if unable to write, fails
to procure two freeholders who will take the oath herein provided, he
shall not be allowed to vote. Immediately after the election and can-
vass of the returns, the judges of election shall deliver to the County
Clerk the copy of said official precinct register, sealed, with the election
returns and poll-book, which have been used at said election.
Section 705. Each clerk must keep a list of persons voting, and
the name of each person who votes must be entered thereon and num-
bered in the order voting. Such list is known as the poll-list and forms
a part of the poll-book of the precinct.
Section 706. Any person offering to vote may be orally challenged
by any elector of the county, upon either or all of the following grounds:
1. That he is not the person whose name appears on the register
or check-list.
2. That he is an idiot or insane person.
3. That he has voted before that day.
4. That he has been convicted of a felony and not pardoned.
Section 707. If the challenge is on the ground that he is not the
person whose name appears on the official register, the judges must
tender him the following oath :
"You do swear (or affirm) that you are the person whose name
is entered on the official register and check-list."
Section 708. If the challenge is on the ground that the person
challenged has voted before that day, the judges must tender to the
person challenged this oath :
"You do swear (or affirm) that you have not before voted this day.''
Section 7(H). If the challenge is on the ground that the person chal-
lenged has l)een convicted of a felony, the judges must tender him the
following oath :
"You do swear (or affirm) that you have not been convicted of a
felony."
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 75
Section Tl(). Challenges upon the grounds either:
1. That tlu> person challenged is qoI the person whose name ap-
pears on the official register; or
That the person has before voted thai day. are determined in favor
of the person challenged by liis taking the oath tendered.
2. A challenge upon the ground thai the person challenged has
been convicted Of a felony and not pardoned must he determined in
favor of the person challenged on ins taking the oath tendered, unless
the fact of conviction he proved by the production of an authenticated
copy of the record or by the oral testimony of two witnesses. If the
person challenged asserts that he has been convicted of a felony and
pardoned therefor, he must exhihit his pardon or a proper certified copy
thereof to the judges, and if the pardon he found sufficient, the judges
must tender to him the following oath: •'You do swear that you have
not heen convicted of any felony other than that for which a pardon is
now exhibited."
Upon taking this oath the person challenged must he permitted to
vote if otherwise qualified, unless a conviction of some other felony
be proved, as in this section provided for the proof of a conviction.
Section 711. Challenges for causes other than those specified in the
preceding section must be tried and determined by the judges of elec-
tion at the time of the challenge.
Section 712. If any person challenged refuses to take the oaths
tendered, or refuses to be sworn and to answer the questions touching
the matter of residence, he must not he allowed to vote.
Section 713. If the challenge is determined against the person of-
fering to vote, the ballot must, without examination, he destroyed by
the judges in the presence of the person offering the same; if de-
termined in his favor, the ballot must he deposited in the hallot-box.
Section 714. The judges must cause each of the clerks to keep a
list showing :
1. The names of all persons challenged.
2. The grounds of such challenges.
3. The determination of the judges upon the challenge.
VOTING BY ABSENT ELECTORS
Section 715. Any qualified elector of this State, having complied
with the laws in regard to registration, who is absent from the county
of which he is an elector on the day of holding any general or special
election, or primary election for the nomination of candidates for such
general election, or any municipal general, special, or primary election,
may vote at any such election as hereinafter provided.
Section 716. At any time within thirty days next preceding such
election, any voter expecting to be absent on the day of election from
76 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
the county in which his voting precinct is situated may make appli-
cation to the County Clerk of such county, or to the City or Town
< Jlerk, in the case of a municipal general, special, or primary election,
for an official ballot or official ballots to be voted at such election as
an absent voter's ballot or ballots.
Section 717. Application for such ballots shall be made on a blank
to be furnished by the County Clerk of the county of which the ap-
plicant is an elector, or the City or Town Clerk, if it be municipal,
general, special, or primary election, and shall be in substantially the
following form :
"I, , a duly qualified elector of the
Precinct, in the County of . and State
of Montana, and am to the best of my knowledge and belief entitled to
vote in such precinct in the next election, expecting to be absent from
the said county on the day for holding such election, hereby make ap-
plication for an official ballot to be voted by me at the said election.
Postoffice address to which ballot is to be mailed.
STATE OF J
f-ss.
COUNTY OF J
On this day of , personally appeared
before me , who being first duly sworn,
deposes and says that he is the person who signed the foregoing appli-
cation, that he has read and knows the contents of same and knows to
his own knowledge the matters and things therein stated are true."
This application must be subscribed by the applicant and sworn to
before some officer authorized to administer oaths, and, the application
shall not be deemed complete without his affidavit. As amended by
Chapter 151, Laws of 1923.
Section 718. The voter making such application shall forward by
mail or deliver in person the same to the County Clerk of the county
in which he is registered and it shall be the duty of the said County
Clerk to look up the applicant's registration card and compare the
signature on the application for absent voter's ballot and the registration
card and if convinced the person making the application for absent
voter's ballot and the person who signed the original registration card
is one and the same person, he shall accept the same in good faith
and deliver the ballot as provided in Section 719. As amended by
Chapter 151, Laws of 1923.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 77
Section 71!>. Such application blank shall, upon request therefor,
be scut by such County or City or Town Clerk to any elector of the
county, by mail, and shall l>e delivered to any elector upon applies
Hon made personally at the office of such County or City or Town
Clerk; provided, however, that no elector shall he entitled to receive
such a ballot on election day, nor unless his application is made to or
received by the County or City or Town Clerk before the delivery of
the official ballots to the judge of election.
Section 720. Upon receipt of such application, properly filled out
and didy signed, or as soon thereafter as the official ballot for the
precinct in which the applicant resides has been printed, the said
County or City or Town Clerk shall send to such elector by mail,
postage prepaid, one official ballot, or if there be more than one ballot
to be voted by an elector of such precinct, one of each kind, and shall
enclose with such ballot or ballots an envelope, to be furnished by
such County or City or Town Clerk, which envelope shall bear upon
the front thereof the name, official title and postoffice address of
such County or City or Town Clerk, and upon the other side a printed
affidavit, in substantially the following form :
State of County of ss.
I, , do solemnly swear that I am
a resident of the precinct, (and if he be a resident
of a city or town, add: "Residing at , in the
town or city of ,") county of
and State of Montana, and entitled to vote in such precinct at the
next election : that I expect to be absent from the said county of my
residence on the day of holding such election and that I will have no
opportunity to vote in person on that day.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of
19 ; and I hereby certify that the
affiant exhibited to me the enclosed ballot or ballots for inspection be-
fore marking and that the same was (or were) then unmarked and
that he then in my presence, and in the presence of no other person,
and in such manner that I could not see his vote, marked said ballot
(or ballots) and enclosed and sealed the same in this envelope. That
the affiant was not solicited or advised by me to vote for or against
any candidate or measure.
Section 721. Such voter shall make and subscribe the said affidavit
before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths, and who has
an official seal, and may do so at any place in the State of Montana,
or in any other state or territory of the United States, before any of-
ficer authorized by the laws of this State to take acknowledgment of
instruments without the state, and such voter shall thereupon, in the
78 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
presence of such officer and of no other person, mark such ballot or
ballots, but in such manner that such officer cannot see the vote, and
such ballot or ballots thereupon, in the presence of such officer, shall
be folded by such voter so that each ballot shall be separate, and so
as to conceal the vote, and shall be. in the presence of such officer,
placed in such envelope securely sealed with mucilage and in addition
thereto sealing wax in not less than two places thereon, the sealing wax
to contain the impression of the official seal of the officer administer-
ing the oath. Said officer shall thereupon append his signature and
official title and affix his seal at the end of said jurat and affidavit.
Said envelope shall be mailed by such absent voter, postage prepaid,
or delivered to the County or City or Town Clerk, as the case may be.
As amended by Chapter 151. Laws of 1923.
Section 722. Upon receipt of such envelope, such County or City or
Town Clerk shall forthwith enclose the same, unopened, together with
the written application of such absent voter in a larger envelope, which
shall be securely sealed and endorsed with the name of the proper vot-
ing precinct, the name and official title of such clerk, and the words
"This envelope contains an absent voter ballot and must be opened only
on election day at the polls when the same are open." and such clerk
shall safely keep the same in his office until the same is delivered or
mailed by him as provided in the next section.
Section 723. In case such envelope is received by such clerk prior
to the delivery of the official ballots to a judge of election of the pre-
cinct in which such absent voter resides, said larger envelope, contain-
ing the said voter's envelope and his said application, as above provided,
shall lie delivered to the judge of election of such precinct, to whom the
official ballots of the precinct shall be delivered, and at the same time.
In case the official ballots for such precinct shall have been delivered
to the judge of election prior to the time of the receipt by the said
clerk of said absent voter's envelope, such clerk shall immediately after
enclosing such voter's envelope and his application in a larger envelope,
and after endorsing the latter as provided in the foregoing section, ad-
dress and mail the larger envelope, postage prepaid, to the said judge
of election of said precinct, as hereinafter further provided.
Section 724. The ballot or ballots to be delivered or marked by such
absent voter shall be one of the regular official ballots to be used at
such election, and of each kind of such official ballots if there be more
than one kind to be voted, beginning with ballot one and following
consecutively, according to the number of applications for such absent
voter ballots. The County or City or Town Clerk shall keep a record of
all ballots so delivered for the purpose of absent voting, as well as of
ballots, if any. marked before hini as hereinafter provided, and shall
make and deliver to the judge of election, to whom the ballots for the
precinct are delivered, and at the time of the delivery of such ballots,
a certificate stating the numbers of ballots delivered or mailed to ab-
sent voters, as well as those marked before him, if any, and the names
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA 79
of the voters to whom such ballots shall be delivered or mailed, or by
whom they shall have boon marked If marked before him.
Section 725. The judges of election, at the opening of the polls,
shall note on the poll-lists when one is required by law to be kept,
opposite the numbers corresponding to the numbers of the ballots is-
sued to absent voters, as shown by the certificate of the County or City
or Town Clerk, the fact that such ballots were issued to absent voters,
and shall reserve said numbers for the absent voters. The notation may
be made by writing the words 'Absent Voters" opposite such numbers.
The judges shall not allow any names to be inserted in the poll-
list on the lines corresponding to said numbers, except the name of
the elector entitled to each particular number according to the cer-
tificate of the County or City or Town Clerk, and the number of his
ballot. Any so rejected shall be placed together with the voter's appli-
cation and the absent voter's envelope provided for the purpose by the
Clerk and Recorder or City or Town Clerk which shall be sealed and
endorsed by the words, "Rejected absent voter ballots'' numbered
, and shall put thereon the number of the ballots
given to absent voters according to the County or City or Town Clerk's
certificate. There shall be a separate enclosing envelope for the ballot
or ballots of each absent voter whose ballot or ballots may have been
rejected, and such envelopes shall be placed in an envelope together with
the other ballots, and shall not be opened without order of a court of
competent jurisdiction.
Section 726. Any qualified elector who is present in his county
after the official ballots of such county have been printed and who
has reason to believe that he will be absent from such county on elec-
tion day as provided in Section 71 may vote before he leaves his county.
in like manner as an absent voter, before the County or City or Town
Clerk or some officer authorized to administer oaths and having an
official seal; and the provisions of this Act shall be deemed to apply
to such voting. If the ballot be marked before the County or City or
Town Clerk it shall be his duty to deal with it in the same manner
as if it had come by mail.
Section 727. At any time between the opening and closing of the
polls on such election day, the judges of election of such precinct shall
first open the outer envelope only, and compare the signature of such
voter to such application, with the signature to such affidavit.
In case the judge finds the affidavit is sufficient and that the sig-
natures correspond, and that the applicant is then a duly qualified
elector of such precinct, and has not voted at such election, they shall
open the absent voter's envelope, in such manner as not to destroy the
affidavit thereon, and take out the ballot or ballots therein contained,
and without unfolding the same, or permitting the same to be opened
or examined, shall ascertain whether the stub or stubs is or are still
attached to the ballot or ballots, and whether the number thereon cor-
responds to the number in the County or City or Town Clerk's cer-
tificate. If so, they shall endorse the same in like manner that other
80 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
ballots are endorsed, shall detach the stub as in other cases, and de-
posit the ballot or ballots in the proper ballot-box or boxes, and make
in their election list and books the proper entries to show such elector
to have voted. In case such affidavit is found to be insufficient, or that
the said signatures do not correspond, or that such applicant is not then
a duly qualified elector of such precinct, such vote shall not be allowed,
but. without opening the absent voter envelope, the judges of such elec-
tion shall mark across the face thereof "rejected as defective." or
"rejected as not an elector" as the case may be. The absent voter
envelope, when such absent vote is voted, and the absent voter envelope
with its contents, unopened ; when such absent vote is rejected, shall be
deposited in the ballot-box containing the general or party ballots, as the
case may be. retained and preserved in the manner by law provided for
the retention and preservation of official ballots voted at such election.
If, upon opening the absent voter's envelope, it be found that the stub
of any ballot has been detached, or that the number thereon does not
correspond to the number in the County or City or Town Clerk's cer-
tificate of the number issued to such absent voter, the ballot shall be
rejected and it shall then and there, and without looking at the face
therof, be marked on the back "rejected on the ground of
," filling the blank with the statement of the reason of
rejection ; which statement shall lie dated and signed by the majority of
the judges. The ballot or ballots so rejected, together with the absent
voter's envelope bearing the application, and the said application, shall
be all enclosed in an envelope which shall be then and there securely
sealed, and on such envelope the judges shall write or cause to be
written (if not already printed thereon) the words, "rejected ballot of
absent voter*' (writing in the name of the elector). "The rejected ballot
or ballots is or are... ." The judges shall desig-
nate the rejected ballot as "General ballot." if it be a ballot for candi-
dates that be rejected. If the rejected ballot Ik- a one put on a ques-
tion submitted to the vote of the electors, the judges shall designate
such ballot as Ballot Question No in the certificate on the
envelope. There shall be a separate enclosing envelope for the ballot
or ballots of each absent voter whose ballot or ballots may have been
rejected and such enclosing envelope shall be placed in the envelope in
which the other ballots voted or (are) required to be placed and shall
not be opened without an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
The Count; or City or Town Clerk shall provide and have delivered to
the judge of election suitable envelopes for enclosing rejected absent
voters ballots.
Section TL'S. Whenever the County or City or Town Clerk shall
mail the envelope containing an absent voter's envelope and ballots as
provided in this Act, to a judge of election, he shall place thereon the
proper postage and the proper stamp or stamps, and the proper mark-
ings to secure the transmission and delivery thereof as a special delivery
letter, in accordance with the postal laws of the United States and the
regulations of the United States postoffice.
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 81
Section 729. Any qualified elector who has marked his ballol as
hereinbefore provided, who shall be in his precinct on election day,
shall he permitted to vote in person, provided his said ballol has qoI
already been deposited in the ballot-box.
Section 730. In case any elector who shall have marked his ballot
as an absent voter, as in this Act provided, shall appear at the voting
place of his precinct on election day. before his ballot or ballots shall
have been deposited in the ballot-box. his envelope containing his ballot
shall, if he so desires, be opened in his presence, and the ballot or
ballots found therein shall be deposited in the ballot-box as herein
before provided. If such elector shall ask for a new ballot or ballots
with which to vote, he shall be entitled to the same, but in such case
his absent-voter envelope shall not be opened, and the judges shall mark,
or cause to be marked, across the face thereof "unopened because voter
appeared and voted in person."' and then deposit in the said envelope,
unopened, in the ballot-box. If the envelope containing the absent-voter
ballot shall have been marked "rejected as defective." and deposited in
the ballot-box. such elector so appearing shall have the same right to
vote as if he had not attempted to vote as an absent voter. If voting
machines are there used, he shall vote by machine as other voters.
Section 731. If the aforesaid envelope containing an absent-voter
ballot shall have been deposited, unopened, in the ballot-box. the said
envelope shall not be opened, without an order of a court of competent
jurisdiction.
Section 732. If any person shall wilfully swear falsely to any affi-
davit in this Act provided for, he shall, upon conviction thereof, be
deemed guilty of perjury, and shall Ik- punished as in such cases by
law provided. If the County or City or Town Clerk, or any election
officer, shall refuse or neglect to perform any of these duties pre-
scribed by this Act, or shall violate any of the provisions thereof, or
if any officer taking the affidavit provided for in section 720 shall
make any false statement in his certificate thereto attached, or look at
any mark or marks made by the voter upon any such ballot, or permit
or allow any other person to be present at the marking of any such
ballot by the voter, or to see any mark or marks made thereon by the
voter, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be pun-
ished by a fine not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars, or by imprison-
ment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by both such fine
and imprisonment.
Section 733. In and for precincts where voting-machines are to be
used, the County or City or Town Clerk shall cause to be printed and
shall provide ballots in the regular form of printed ballots, and suffi-
cient printed ballots and sufficient in number for possible absent voters,
and also poll-books and ballot-boxes such as lists required for the pre-
cincts in which printed ballots are used. Absent voters' ballots received
in such precincts shall be cast as in this Act provided, and all provisions
of this Act and of the Election Laws shall apply to the casting, can-
82 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
vassing,, counting, and returning of such ballots and votes, except a.*
herein otherwise provided. In making the canvass the votes cast by
absent voters shall be added by the judges of election to the votes cast
on the voting machines, and the results determined and reported ac-
cordingly.
Section 734. In case any elector who shall have taken advantage
of the provisions of this Act, and marked his ballot as an absent voter,
as in this Act provided, shall not leave his county, or shall return
thereto on or before election day, and in time to allow him to go to the
polls, to-wit, to the voting place in his precinct, and to be admitted
therein before the close of the polls, it shall be his duty so to go to
the said voting place and to present himself to the judges of election at
said voting place, and if he shall wilfully neglect so to do, he shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
punished by a fine of not more than One Hundred Dollars or by im-
prisonment not more than thirty days in the county jail or by both
such fine and imprisonment. If such an elector so appears the judges of
election shall note in the poll-books and lists the fact of his appearance
as well as whether or not he voted in person.
Section 735. If any elector of this state or any other person or
any officer shall, in any matter connected with voting outside of the
state under the provisions of this law, in any manner violate any of the
provisions of this Act, or of any of the election or penal laws of this
state applicable to voting under this Act, in such manner that such
violation would constitute an offense if committed within the state,
then and in such case such elector, person, or officer shall be deemed
guilty of a like offense, and be punishable to the same extent and in
the same manner as if the act, omission, or violation had been com-
mitted in this state, and may be prosecuted in any county in this state ;
provided, however, that if the defendant or one of several defendants
be a resident of the state he may have the case removed to the county
in which the ballot was cast, or was to be cast, if not, in fact cast; and
provided, further, that the court may order any such case removed to
such county, subject always to the power of the court of any county to
grant a change of venue as in other cases.
Sections 736-756, Repealed by Chapter 163, Laws of 1935.
VOTING MACHINE— CONDUCT OF ELECTION WHEN USED
Section 757. The Governor, Secretary of State, and State Auditor,
and their successors in office, are hereby created and constituted the
State Board of Voting-Machine Commissioners. It shall be the duty of
said board to examine all voting or ballot machines in order to deter-
mine whether such machines comply with the requirements of this Act
and can safely be used by voters at elections under the provisions of
this Act, and no machine or machines shall be provided or used at any
election in this state unless the said machine or machines shall have
received the approval of a majority of said board as herein provided.
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA 83
Said board may employ two Qualified mechanics, who shall be qualified
electors of the State of Montana, to examine s;ii<l machines and assist
said board in tbe discharge of its duties under this Act, the compensa-
tion to be paid such qualified mechanics not to exceed the sum <>f Ten
Dollars each for each day actually employed. Any machine or machines
which shall have the approval of the majority of said board may be
provided for in this Act. The report of said board on each and every
kind of voting machine shall be filed with the Secretary of State within
thirty days after examining the machine, and the Secretary of State
shall, within five days after the filing of any report approving any ma-
chine or machines, transmit to the Board of County Commissioners, City
Council or other board of officers having charge and control of elections
in each of the counties and cities of this state, a list of the machines so
approved. No machine or machines shall be used unless they shall have
received the approval of the state board at least sixty days prior to any
election at which such machine or machines are to be used. The com-
pensation of the mechanics and all other expenses connected with the
examination of any machine shall be paid, or caused to be paid, by the
person or company submitting the machine for examination liefoi'e the
filing of the report thereon. The amount of such expenses shall be certi-
fied by the State Auditor and paid to the State Treasurer.
Section 758. No machine or machine system shall be approved by
the commission unless it be so constructed as to afford every elector a
reasonable opportunity to vote for any person for any office, or for or
against any proposition for whom, or for or against which he is by law
entitled to vote, and enable him to do this in secrecy : and it must be
so constructed as to preclude an elector from voting for any candidate
for the same office or upon any question more than once, and from
voting for any person for any office for whom he is not by law entitled
to vote. The machine or machine system must admit of his voting a
split ticket as he may desire. It must also be so constructed as to
register or record each and every vote cast. For presidential electors one
device may be provided for voting for all the candidates of one party at
one time by the use of such device, opposite or adjacent to which shall
be a ballot on the machine containing the names of all the candidates
for all presidential electors of that party, and a vote registered or re-
corded by the use of such device shall be counted for each of such
candidates on said ballot. The machine must be constructed so that it
cannot be tampered with or manipulated for any fraudulent purpose,
and the machine must be so locked, arranged, or constructed that during
the progress of the voting no person can see or know the number of
votes registered or recorded for any candidate.
Section 759. The Boards of County Commissioners of counties of
the first class shall, and the Boards of County Commissioners of other
counties and City Councils of all cities and towns, may, at their option,
adopt and purchase, for use in the various precincts, any voting-machine
approved in the manner above set forth in this Act. by the Voting-Ma-
chine Commission, and none other. If it shall be impracticable to supply
84 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
each and every election district with a voting-machine or voting-machines
at any election following the adoption of such machines in a city, vil-
lage, or town, as many may he supplied as it is practicable to procure,
and the same shall be used in such precinct of the municipality, as the
proper officers may order. The proper officers of any city, village,
or town may, not later than the tenth day of September, in any year
in which a general election is held, unite two or more precincts into
one for the purpose of using therein at such election a voting-machine,
and the notice of such uniting shall be given in the manner prescribed
by law for the change of election districts.
Section 760. Payment for voting-machines purchased may be pro-
vided by the issuance of interest-bearing bonds, certificates of indebted-
ness, or other obligation, which will be a charge upon such county.
city, or town. Such bonds, certificates, or other obligation may be made
payable at such time or times, not exceeding ten years from the date
of issue, as may be determined, but shall not be issued or sold at less
than par.
Section 7(>1. The room in which the election is held shall have a
railing separating that part of the room to be occupied by the election
officers from that part of the room occupied by the voting-machine. The
exterior of the voting-machine and every part of the polling place shall
be in plain view of the judges. The machine shall be so placed that no
person on the opposite side of the railing can see or determine how
the voter casts his vote, and that no person can so see or determine
from the outside of the room. After the opening of the polls, the judges
shall not allow any person to pass within the railing to that part of
the room where the machine is situated, except for the purpose of Vot-
ing and except as provided in the next succeeding section of this Act;
and they shall not permit more than one voter at a time to be in such
part of the room. They shall not themselves remain or permit any
person to remain in any position that would permit him or them to see
or ascertain how the voter votes or how he has voted. No voter shall
remain within the voting-machine booth or compartment longer than one
minute, and if he should refuse to leave it after that lapse of time
he shall at once be removed by the judges. The election board of each
election precinct in which a voting-machine is used shall consist of
three judges of election. Where more than one machine is to be used
in an election precinct, one additional judge shall be appointed for
each additional machine. Before each election at which voting-machines
are to be used, the custodian shall instruct all judges of election that
are to serve thereat in the use of the machine and their duties in con-
nection therewith: and he shall give to each judge that has received
such instruction, and is fully qualified to conduct the election with the
machine a Certificate to that effect. For the purpose of giving such
instruction, the custodian shall call such meeting or meetings of the
judges of election as shall be necessary. Each judge of election shall
attend such meeting or meetings and receive such instructions as shall
be necessary for the proper conduct of the election with the machine ;
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 3b
and. as compensation for the time spent in receiving such Instruction,
each Judge thai shall qualify for and serve in the election shall receive
the sum of one dollar, to he paid to him at the same time and in the
same manner as compensation is paid to him lor his services <>n elec-
tion day. N<> such Judge of election shall serve in any election at which
a voting-machine is used, unless he shall have received such instruction
and is fully qualified to perform his duties in connection with the ma-
chine, and has received a certificate to that effect from the custodian
of the machine; provided, however, that this shall not prevent the
appointment of a judge of election to fill a vacancy in an emergency.
Section 762. ASSISTANCE TO ELECTOR UNABLE TO RECORD
VOTE. If any voter shall, in the presence of the Judges of Election,
declare that he is unahle to read or write the English language, or
that by reason of a physical disability or total hlindness he is unable
to register or record his vote upon the voting machine, he shall be
assisted as provided by Section 699 of the Revised Codes of Montana
of 1921. Any person who shall deceive any elector in registering or
recording his vote under this section, or who shall register or record
his vote in any other way than as requested by such person or who
shall give information to any person as to what ticket or for what
person or persons such person voted, shall he punished as provided in
Section 10753 of the Penal Code.
As amended by Chapter 31, Laws of 1935.
Section 763. Not more than ten (10) or less than three (3) days
before each election at which voting-machines are to be used, the board,
or officials, charged with the duty of providing ballots, shall publish
in newspapers representing at least two (2) political parties a diagram
of reduced size showing the face of the voting-machine, after the official
ballot labels are arranged thereon, together with illustrated instructions
how to vote, and a statement of the locations of such voting-machines
as shall be on public exhibition; a voting-machine shall at all time
be on exhibition for public demonstration in the office of the County
Clerk and Recorder in the counties where said voting-machines are
used, and it shall be the duty of the said County Clerk and Recorder
to demonstrate and explain the working and operation of said voting-
machine to any inquiring voter; or in lieu of such publication, said
board or officials may send by mail or otherwise at least three (3)
days before the election, a printed copy of said reduced diagram to
each registered voter. Not later than forty (40 1 days before each elec-
tion at which voting-machines are to be used, the Secretary of State shall
prepare samples of the printed matter and supplies named in this sec-
tion, and shall furnish one of each thereof to the board of officials having
charge of election in each county, city or village in which the machines
are to be used, such samples to meet the requirements of the election to
be held, and to suit the construction of the machine to be used. The
board or officials charged with the duty of providing ballots, shall pro-
vide for each voting-machine for each election the following printed
matter and supplies: suitahle printed or written directions to the cub-
86 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
todian for testing and preparing the voting-machines for the election ;
one certificate on which the custodian can certify that he has properly
tested and prepared the voting-machine for the election; one certificate
on which some person other than the custodian preparing the machine,
can certify that the voting-machine has been examined and found to
have been properly prepared for the election; one certificate on which
the party representatives can verify that they have witnessed the testing
and preparation of the machines ; one certificate on which the deliverer
of the machine can certify that he has delivered the machines to the
polling-places in good order ; one card stating the penalty for tampering
with or injuring a voting-machine ; two seals for sealing the voting ma-
chine ; one envelope in which the keys to the voting-machine can be
sealed and delivered to the election officers, said envelope to have printed
or written thereon the designation and location of the election district
in which the machine is to be used, the number of machine, the number
shown on the protective counter thereof after the machine has been pre-
pared for the election and the number or other designation on such seal
as the machine is sealed with ; said envelope to have attached to it a
detachable receipt for the delivery of the keys of the voting-machine to
the judges of election ; one envelope in which keys to the voting-machine
can be returned by the election officers after the election ; one card stat-
ing the name and telephone address of the custodian on the day of the
election ; two statements of canvass on which the election officers can
report the canvass of the votes as shown on the voting-machine, together
with other necessary information relating to the election, said statements
of canvass to take the place of all tally papers, statements and returns
as provided heretofore; three (3) complete sets of ballot labels; two
diagrams of the face of the machine with the ballot labels thereon,
each diagram to have printed above it the proper instructions to voters
for voting on the machine; six (6) suitable printed instructions to
judges of election; six (6) notices to judges of election to attend the
instruction meeting; six (6) certificates that the judges of election
have attended the instruction meeting, have received the necessary in-
struction, and are qualified to conduct the election with the machine.
The ballot labels shall be printed in black ink on clear white material
of such size and arrangement as shall suit the construction of the ma-
chine; provided, however, that the ballot labels for the questions may
contain a condensed statement of each question to be voted on, followed
by the words "Yes" and "No" ; and provided further, that the titles of
the officers thereon shall be printed in type as large as the space for
each office will reasonably permit, and wherever more than one candi-
date will be voted for for an office, there shall be printed below the
office title thereof the words "vote for any two," or such number as the
voter is lawfully entitled to vote for for such office. When any person is
nominated for an office by more than one political party his name
shall be placed upon the ticket under the designation of the party which
first nominated him; or, if nominated by more than one party at the
same time, he shall, within the time fixed by law for filing certificates
of nomination, file with the officer with whom his certificate of nomi-
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 87
nation is required to be tiled, a written statement Indicating the party
designation under which he desires his name to appear upon the ballot,
and it shall W so printed. If ho shall refuse or neglect to so file such ;i
statement, the officer with whom the certificate of nomination is re-
quired to he filled shall place his name under the designation of either
of the parties nominating him, but under no other designation whatso-
ever. If the election he one at which all the candidates for office of
Presidential elector's are to be voted for with one device, the County
Commissioners shall furnish for each machine twenty-five (25) ballots
for each political party, each ballot containing the names of the candi-
dates for the office of Presidential electors of such party and a suitable
space for writing in names, so that the voter can vote thereon for part
of the candidates for the office of Presidential electors of one party
and part of the candidates therefor of one or more other parties or for
persons for that office not nominated by any party. For election pre-
cincts in which voting-machines are to be used, no books or blanks for
making poll-lists shall be provided, but in lieu thereof, the registry lists
shall contain a column in which can be entered the number of each
voter's ballot as indicated by the number registered on the public counter
as he emerges from the voting machine.
Section 764. The City or County Clerks of each city or county in
which a voting-machine is to be used shall cause the proper ballots to
be put upon each machine corresponding with the sample ballots herein
provided for, and the machines in every way put in order, set and ad-
justed ready for use in voting when delivered at the precinct, and for
the purpose of so labeling the machines, putting in order, setting and
adjusting the same, they may employ one or more competent persons,
and they shall cause the machine so labeled, in order and set and ad-
justed, to be delivered at the voting precinct, together with all necessary
furniture and appliances that go with the same in the room where the
election is to be held in the precinct, in time for the opening of the
polls on election day ; provided, however, that a shield of tin painted
black made to conform with the shape of the keys or levers on said
voting-machine, shall be placed over the keys or levers not in use on
the face of the ballot of the voting machine ; said shields to be plainly
marked with the words "not in use" ; and provided that a space of at
least one row of keys or levers be left vacant and marked "not in use"
between the rows assigned to the two parties obtaining the largest num-
ber of votes cast at the previous general election: and provided also
that the general ballot used on the voting-machine shall conform in the
location of the various parties and the location of the various names of
the candidates, with the paper ballots used in the precincts where voting
machines are not in use. Thus the party assigned to the first vertical
column on the paper ballot be given the first vertical column or the top
horizontal row on the voting machine ; the party assigned to the second
vertical column on the paper ballot be given the second vertical column,
or the second horizontal row to be voted on the voting machine. The
judges shall compare the ballots on the machine with the sample ballot,
see that they are correct, examine and see that all counters, if any.
88 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
in the machine are set at zero, and that the machine is otherwise in
perfect order, and they shall not thereafter permit the machine to he
operated or moved except by electors in voting, and they shall also see
that all necessary arrangements and adjustments are made for voting
irregular ballots on the machine, if such machine be so arranged.
Section 765. In case a voting machine be adopted which provides
for the registry or recording of votes for candidates whose names are
not on the official ballot, such ballot shall be denominated irregular
ballots. A person whose name appears on a ballot, or on or in a ma-
chine or machine system, shall not be voted for for the same office or
on or in any regular device for easting an irregular ticket, and any
such vote shall not be counted, except for the office of Presidential
electors, and an elector may vote in or on such irregular device for one
or more persons nominated by one party with one or more persons nomi-
nated by any one or all other parties or for one or more persons nomi-
nated by one or more parties with one or more persons not in nomination,
or he may vote in such irregular device a Presidential electoral ticket
composed entirely of names of persons not in nomination.
Section . 766. As soon as the polls of the election are closed the
judges shall immediately lock the machine, or remove the recording
device so as to provide against voting, and open the registering or record-
ing compartments in the presence of any person desiring to attend the
same, and shall proceed to ascertain the number of votes cast for each
person voted for at the election, and to canvass, record, announce, and
return the same as provided by law.
Section 767. The judges as soon as the count is completed and
fully ascertained, shall place the machine for one hour in such a po-
sition that the registering or recording compartments will be in full
view of the public and any person desiring to view the number of votes
cast for each person voted for at the election, must be permitted to do
so. Immediately, after the above said one hour shall have expired, the
judges shall seal, close, lock the machine or remove the record so as to
provide avainst voting or being tampered with, and in case of a machine
so sealed or locked, it shall so remain for a period of at least thirty
(30) days, unless opened by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
When irregular ballots have been voted, the judges shall return them in
a properly sealed package endorsed "irregular ballots," and indicating
the precinct and county and file such package with the City or County
Clerk. It shall be preserved for six (6) months after such election and
may be opened and its contents examined only upon an order of a court
of competent jurisdiction; at the end of such six (6) months unless
ordered otherwise by the court, such package and its contents shall be
destroyed by the City or County Clerk. All tally sheets taken from such
machine, if any, shall he returned in the same manner. The officers
heretofore charged with the duty of furnishing tally sheets and returns
blanks shall furnish suitable returns blanks and certificates to the of-
ficers of election. Such return sheets shall have each candidate's name
designated by the same reference character that said candidate's name
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA 89
bears on the ballot Labels and counters, and shall make provision for
Writing in of the vote for SUCb candidate in figures and shall also pro
vide for writing in of the vote in words. Sneh return sheet shall also
provide for the return of the vote on questions. It shall also have a
blank thereon, on which can be marked the precinct, ward, etc., of
which said return sheet bears the returns and the number and make of
the machine used. Said return sheet Shall also have a certificate thereon,
to be executed before the polls open by the judges of election, statins that
all counters except the protective counter, if any. and except as otherwise
noted thereon, stood at "000" at the beginning of the election, and that
all of said counters had been carefully examined before the beginning of
the electoin; that the ballot labels were correctly placed on the machine
and correspond to the sample ballot, and such other statements as the
particular machine may require: and shall provide for the signature of
the election officers. Said return sheet shall also have thereon a second
certificate stating the manner of closing the polls, the manner of verify-
ing the returns, that the forgoing returns are correct, giving the indica-
tion of the public counter, and poll-list, and protective counter, if any.
at the close of the election. Such certificate shall properly specify the
procedure of canvassing the vote and locking the machine, etc., for the
particular type of machine used, and such certificate shall be such that
the election officers can properly subscribe to it as having been followed
and shall have provisions for the signature of the election officers. The
election officers shall conform their procedure to that specified in the
certificate to which they must certify. The certificate and attest of
the election officers shall appear on each return sheet.
Section 768. All laws of this state applicable to elections where
voting is done in another manner than by machine, and all penalties
prescribed for violation of such laws, shall apply to elections and pre-
cincts where voting machines are used, in so far as they are not in
conflict with the provisions of this chapter.
Section 769. Any public officer or any election officer upon whom
any duty is imposed by this Act. who shall wilfully neglect or omit to
perform any such duties, or do any act prohibited herein for which pun-
ishment is not otherwise provided herein, shall, upon conviction, be im-
prisoned in the state prison for not less than one year or more than
three years, or be fined in any sum not exceeding one thousand dollars.
or may be punished by both such imprisonment and fine.
Section 770. Any person not being an election officer who, during
any election or before an election, after a voting machine has had placed
upon it the ballots for such election, shall tamper with such machine,
disarrange, deface, injure, or impair, the same in any manner, or muti-
late, injure or destroy any ballot placed thereon or to be placed thereon,
or any other appliance used in connection with such machine, shall be
imprisoned in the state prison for a period of not more than ten years,
or be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or be punished by both
such fine and imprisonment.
90 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Section 771. Whoever, being a judge of election, with intent to per-
mit or cause any voting machine to fail to correctly register or record
any vote cast thereon, tampers with or disarranges such machine in any
way, or any part or appliance thereof, or who causes or consents to said
machine being used for voting at any election with knowledge of the fact
that the same is not in order or not perfectly set and adjusted, so that
it will correctly register or record all votes cast thereon, or who, for the
purpose of defrauding or deceiving any voter, or causing it to be doubt-
ful for what ticket or candidate or candidates or proposition any vote
is cast, or of causing it to appear upon said machine that votes cast
for one ticket, candidate, or proposition were cast for another ticket,
candidate, or proposition, removes, changes, or mutilates any ballot on
said machine, or any part thereof, or does any other like thing, shall be
imprisoned in the state prison not more than ten years, or fined not
exceeding one thousand dollars, or punished by both such fine and
imprisonment.
Section 772. Any judge or clerk of an election who shall purposely
cause the vote registered or recorded on or in such machine to be in-
correctly taken down as to any candidate or proposition voted on, or
who shall knowingly cause to be made or signed any false statement,
certificate, or return of any kind, of such vote, or who shall knowingly
consent to such things, or any of them, being done, shall be imprisoned
in the state prison not more than ten years, or fined not more than
one thousand dollars, or punished by both such fine and imprisonment.
Section 773. The proper officers authoried by this Act to adopt
voting machines, may provide for the experimental use of an election
in one or more precincts, of a machine approved by the Montana Voting-
Machine Commission without a formal adoption or purchase thereof
and its use at such electoin shall be as valid for all purposes as if
formally adopted. If from any cause a machine becomes unworkable, or
unfit for use, voting shall proceed as in cases where machines are not
used, and the County Clerk must furnish each voting place with the
supply of ballots and other supplies required by the election laws to be
used in the case of emergency herein provided for, and in such case only.
ELECTION RETURNS
Section 774. As soon as the polls are closed, the judges must im-
mediately proceed to canvass the votes given at such election. The
canvass must be public in the presence of bystanders and must be con-
tinued without adjournment until completed and the result thereof is
publicly declared.
Section 775. The canvass must commence by a comparison of the
poll-lists from the commencement, and the correction of any mistakes
that may be found therein, until they are found to agree. The judges
must then take out of the box the ballots unopened except to ascertain
whether each ballot is single, and count the same to determine whether
the number of ballots corresponds with the number of names on the poll-
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA 91
lists. If two or more ballots arc found bo folded together as to presenl
the appearance of a single ballot, they must be laid aside until the
count of the ballots is completed, and If, on comparing the count with
the poll-lists and further considering the appearance of such ballots, a
majority of the judges are of the opinion that the ballots thus folded
together were voted by one elector, they must be rejected; otherwise
they must be counted.
Section 776. If the ballots then are found to exceed in number the
whole number of names on the poll list, they must be placed in the box
(after being purged in the manner above stated), and one of the judges
must, publicly, and without looking in the box, draw therefrom singly
and destroy unopened so many ballots as are equal to such excess. And
the judges must make a record on the poll-list of the number of ballots
so destroyed.
Section 777. In the canvass of the votes, any ballot which is not
endorsed as provided in this Code by the official stamp is void and
must not be counted, and any ballot or parts of a ballot from which it
is impossible to determine the elector's choice is void and must not be
counted ;if part of a ballot is sufficiently plain to gather therefrom the
elector's intention, it is the duty of the judges of election to count such
part
Section 778. The ballots and poll-lists agreeing or being made to
agree, the judges must then proceed to count and ascertain the number
of votes cast for each person voted for. In making such count the
ballots must be opened singly by one of the judges, and the contents
thereof, while exposed to the view of the other judges, must be dis-
tinctly read aloud by the judge who opens the ballot. As the ballots
are read, each clerk must write at full length on a sheet to be known
as a tally-sheet the name of every person voted for and of the office
for which he received votes, and keep by tallies on such sheet the num-
ber of votes for each person. The tally-sheets must then be compared
and their correctness ascertained, and the clerks must, under the super-
vision of the judges, immediately thereafter set down, at length and in
their proper places in the poll-books the names of all persons voted for,
the offices for which they respectively received votes, and the total
number of votes received by each person, as shown by the tally-sheets.
No ballot or vote rejected by the judges must be included in the count
provided for in this section.
Section 779. The ballots, as soon as read or rejected for illegality,
must be strung upon a string by one of the judges, and must not
thereafter be examined by any person, but must, as soon as all legal
ballots are counted, be carefully sealed in a strong envelope, each mem-
ber of the judges writing his name across the seal.
Section 780. Any ballot rejected for illegality must be marked by
the judges, by writing across the face thereof "Rejected on the ground
of ," filling the blank with a brief
92 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
statement of the reasons for the rejection, which statement must be
dated and signed by a majority of the judges.
Section 781. As soon as all the votes are counted and the ballots
sealed up, the poll-books must be signed and certified to by the judges
and clerks of election substantially as in the form in Section 600 of
this Code.
Section 7S2. The judges must, before they adjourn, inclose in a
strong envelope, securely sealed up and directed to the County Clerk,
the check lists, all certificates of registration received by them, one of
the lists of the persons challenged, one of the poll-books, one of the
tally-sheets, and the official oaths taken by the judges and clerks of
election ; and must inclose in a separate package or envelope, securely
sealed up and directed to the County Clerk, all detached stubs from
ballots voted and all unused ballots with the numbered stubs attached :
and must also inclose in a separate package or envelope, securely sealed
up and directed to the County Clerk, all ballots voted, including all
voted ballots which, for any reason, were not counted or allowed, and
indorse on the outside thereof ''Ballots voted.*' Each of the judges
must write his name across the seal of each of said envelopes or
packages.
Section 783. The judges must select one of their number to retain,
open to the inspection of all electors, for at least six months, the other
list of persons challenged, the other tally-sheet and poll-book. The judge
so selected must also retain the ballot-box.
Section 784. The sealed envelope containing the check-lists, certifi-
cates of registration, poll-book, tally-sheets, oaths of election officers,
also the package or envelope containing the detached stubs and unused
ballots, must, before the judges adjourn, be delivered to one of their
number, to be determined by lot, unless otherwise agreed upon.
Section 785, The judges to whom such packages are delivered must,
within twenty-four hours, deliver them, without their having been opened,
to the County Clerk, or convey the same, unopened, to the postoffice
nearest the house in which the election for such precinct was held, and
register and mail the same, duly directed to the said clerk.
Section 786. Upon receipt of the packages by the County Clerk,
he must file the one containing the ballots voted and the one containing
the detached stubs and unused ballots, and must keep them unopened
and unaltered for twelve months, after which time if there is no con-
test commenced in some tribunal having jurisdiction about such election,
he must burn such packages, or envelopes, without opening or examining
their contents.
Section 787. If, within twelve months, there is such a contest com-
menced, he must keep the packages of envelopes unopened and unaltered
until it is finally determined, when he must, as provided in the preced-
ing section, destroy them, unless the same are by virtue of an order of
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 93
the tribunal in which the contesl is pending, brought and opened before
it to tbe end thai evidence may be bad of tin Ir contents, in which
event the packages or envelopes and their contents are in the custody of
such tribunal.
Section 788. The envelopes containing the check-lists, certificates
of registration, poll-book, tally-sheets, and oaths of election officers
must be filed by the County Clerk and be kept by him, unopened and
unaltered, until the Board of County Commissioners meet for the pur-
pose of canvassing the returns, when he must produce them before such
board, where the same shall be opened.
Section 780. As soon as the returns are canvassed, the clerk must
file in his office the poll-book, lists, and the papers produced before
the board from the package mentioned in the next preceding section.
CANVASS OF ELECTION RETURNS— RESULTS AND CERTIFICATES
Section 700. The Board of County Commissioners of each county is
ex-officio a Board of County Canvassers for the county, and must meet
as the Board of County Canvassers at the usual place of meeting of
the County Commissioners within ten days after each election at twelve
o'clock noon, to canvass the returns.
Section 701. If. at the time and place appointed for such meeting,
one or more of the County Commissioners should not attend, the place
of the absentees must be supplied by one or more of the following
county officers, whose duty it is to act in the order named, to-wit, the
Treasurer, the Assessor, the Sheriff, so that the Board of County Can-
vassers shall always consist of three acting members. The Clerk of
the Board of County Commissioners is the Clerk of the Hoard of
County Canvassers.
Section 702. If. at the time of meeting, the returns from each pre-
cinct in the county in which polls were opened have been received, the
Board of County Canvassers must then and there proceed to canvass
the returns; but if all the returns have not been received, the canvass
must be postponed from day to day until all of the returns are re-
ceived, or until seven postponements have been had. If the returns from
any election precinct have not been received by the County Clerk within
seven days after any election, it is the duty forthwith to send a mes-
senger to the judges for the missing returns, who must procure such
returns from the judges, or any of them, and return the same to the
County Clerk. Such messenger must be paid out of the county treasury
fifteen cents per mile in going and coming. If it appears to the board,
by evidence, that the polls were not opened in any precinct, and no
returns have been received therefrom, the board must certify to the same,
and file such certificate with tbe County Clerk, with the evidence, if
any, who must enter the same in the minutes and in the statement
mentioned in Section 704.
Section 703. The canvass must be made in public by opening the
94 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
returns and determining therefrom the vote of such county or precinct
for each person voted for, and for and against each proposition voted
upon at such election, and declaring the result thereof. In canvassing,
no return must be rejected if it can be ascertained therefrom the num-
ber of votes cast for each person. The fact that the returns do not
show who administered the oath to the judges or clerks of election, or a
failure to fill out all the certificates in the poll-books, or to do or per-
form any other act in making up the returns, that is not essential to
determine for whom the votes were cast, is not such an irregularity as
to entitle the board to reject the same, but they must be canvassed as
other returns are.
Section 794. The clerk of the board must, as soon as the result is
declared, enter on the records of such board a statement of such re-
sult, which statement must show :
1. The whole number of votes cast in the county.
2. The names of the persons voted for and the propositions voted
upon.
3. The office to fill which each person was voted for.
4. The number of votes given at each precinct to each of such
persons, and for and against each of such propositions.
5. The number of votes given in the county to each of such per-
sons, and for and against each of such propositions.
Section 795. The person receiving at any election the highest
number of votes for any office to be filled at such election is elected
thereto.
Section 79G. The board must declare elected the person having the
highest number of votes given for each office to be filled by the votes
of a single county or a subdivision thereof, and in the event of two or
more persons receiving an equal and sufficient number of votes to elect
to the office of State Senator, or member of the House of Representa-
tives, it shall be the duty of the board, under the direction of and in
the presence of the District Court, or Judge thereof, to recount the
ballots cast for such persons, and the board shall declare elected the
person or persons shown by the recount to have the highest number of
votes. If such recount shall show that two or more such persons receive
an equal and sufficient number of votes to elect to the same office,
then, and in that event, the board shall certify such facts to the
Governor.
Section 7!>7. The Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners must
immediately make out and deliver to such person (except to the per-
son elected District Judge) a certificate of election signed by him and
authenticated with the seal of the Board of County Commissioners.
Section 798. Where there are members of the House of Representa-
tives voted for by the electors of a district composed of two or more
counties, each of the clerks of the counties composing such district, im-
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 95
mediately after making out the statemenl specified in Section 794, must
make a certified abstract of so much thereof as relates to the election
of such officers-
Section T!)!». The clerk must seal up such abstract, indorse it
"Election Returns," and without delay transmit the same by mail to
the Clerk of the Board of Commissioners of the county which stands
first in alphabetical arrangement in the list of counties composing such
district.
Section 800. The clerk to whom the returns of a district are made
must on the twentieth day after such election, or sooner, if the returns
from all the counties in the district have been received, open in public
such returns, and from them and the statement of the vote for such
officers in his own county :
1. Make a statement of the vote of the district for such officers,
and file the same, together with the returns, in his office.
2. Transmit a certified copy of such statement to the Secretary
of State.
3. Make out and deliver or transmit by mail to the persons elected
a certificate of election (unless it is by law otherwise provided).
Section 801. When there has been a general or special election for
officers voted for by the electors of the State at large or for judicial
officers '(except Justices of the Peace), each Clerk of the Board of
County Canvassers, so soon as the statement of the vote of his county
is made out and entered upon the records of the Board of County Com-
missioners, must make a certified abstract of so much thereof as re-
lates to the votes given for persons for said offices to be filled at
such election.
Section 802. The clerk must seal up such abstract, endorse it
"Election Returns," and without delay transmit it by mail, registered,
to the Secretary of State.
Section 803. On the first Monday of December after the day of
election, at twelve o'clock noon, the State Auditor. State Treasurer,
and Attorney General, who constitute a Board of State Canvassers,
must meet in the office of the Secretary of State and compute and
determine the vote, and the Secretary of State, who is secretary of
said board, must make out and file in his office a statement thereof
and transmit a copy of such statement to the Governor.
Section 804. If the returns from all the counties have not been
received on the fifth day before the day designated for the meeting
of the Board of State Canvassers, the Secretary of State must forth-
with send a messenger to the Clerk of the Board of County Canvassers
of the delinquent county, and such clerk must furnish the messenger
with a certified copy of the statement mentioned in Section 794. The
person appointed is entitled to receive as compensation Five Dollars
per day for the time necessarily consumed in such service, and the
96 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
traveling expenses necessarily incurred. His account therefor, certified
by the Secretary of State, after herns; allowed by the Board of Ex-
aminers, must be paid out of the general fund of the state treasury.
Section 805. Upon receipt of such copy mentioned in Section 808,
the Governor must issue commissions to the persons who from it ap-
pear to have received the highest number of votes for offices to be filled
at such election. In case a Governor has been elected to succeed him-
self, the Secretary of State must issue the commission.
Section 806. No declaration of the result, commission, or certifi-
cate must be withheld on account of any defect or informality in the
return of any election, if it can with reasonable certainty be ascer-
tained from such return what office is intended and who is elected thereto.
Section SOT. It is the duty of the Secretary of State to cause to
be published, in pamphlet form, a sufficient number of copies of election
laws and such other provisions of law as hear upon the subject of
elections and to transmit the proper number to each County Clerk,
whose duty it is to furnish each election officer in his county with
one of such copies.
Section 808. The penalties for the violation id' election laws are
prescribed in Sections 10747 to 10820 of the Penal Code.
FAILIKE OF ELECTIONS— PROCEEDINGS ON TIE VOTE
Section 809. In case of a failure, by reason of a tie vote or other-
wise, to elect a Representative in Congress, the Secretary of State must
transmit to the Governor a certified statement showing the vote cast
for such persons voted for, and in case of a failure to elect, by reason
of a tie vote or otherwise, the Governor musl order a special election.
Section 810. In case any two or more persons have an equal and
highest number of votes for either Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Sec-
retary of State, Attorney General, State Auditor. State Treasurer, Clerk
of the Supreme Court, Superintendent of Public Instruction, or any
other State executive officer, the Legislative Assembly, at its next
regular session, must forthwith, by joint ballot of the two houses, elect
one of such persons to fill such office ; and in case of a tie vote for
Clerk of the District Court, County Attorney, or for any county officer
except County Commissioner, and for any township officer, the Board
of County Commissioners must appoint some eligible person, as in case
of other vacancies in such offices: and in case of a lie vote for County
Commissioner, the District Judge of the county must appoint an eligible
person to fill the office, as in other cases of vacancy.
Section 811. In case of a tie vote for state officers, as specified
in the preceding section, it is the duty of the Secretary of State to
transmit to the legislative Assembly, at its next regular session, a cer-
tified copy of the statement showing the vote cast for the two or more
persons having an equal and the highest number of votes for any state
office.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 97
Section 812. In case any two <>r more persona have an equal and
highest number of votes for Justice of the Supreme Court or Judge
of a District Court, the Secretary of state must transmit to the Gov-
ernor a certified statement showing the vote cast for such person, and
thereupon the Governor must appoint an eligible i>erson to hold office
as in case of other vacancies in such offices.
CHAPTER 182
An Act to Regulate the Nomination and Election of Justices of the Su-
preme Court and Judges of the District Court of the State of Montana:
Abolishing Certain Existing Methods in Such Cases and the Use of
Party or Political Designations at Elections to Such Offices: Imposing
Certain Duties Upon the Secretary of State and County Officers Hav-
ing Charge of Election Affairs and Judges and Clerks of Election.
and Adapting the Provisions of the Laws as They Now Exist to the
Nonpartisan Election of Judges of Courts of the State.
Re It Enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Montana:
Section 1. That hereafter all candidates for the office of Justice of
the Supreme Court of the State of Montana or Judge of the District
Court in any judicial district of the State of Montana, shall he nomi-
nated and elected in accordance with the provisions of this Act and
in no other manner.
Section 2. Candidates for any office within the provisions of this
Act. to be filled at any election to he held in the State of Montana.
shall be nominated in the manner herein provided at the regular pri-
mary nominating election proAided by law for the nomination of other
candidates for other offices to be filled at such election, and all laws
relating to such primaries shall continue to be in force and to be
applicable to the said offices in so far as may be consistent with the
provisions of this Act.
Section 3. All persons who shall desire to become candidates for
nomination to any office within the provisions of this Act shall pre-
pare, sign, and file petitions for nomination in compliance with the
requirements of the primary election laws, which petition for nomina-
tion shall be substantially in the following form :
To (Name and title of officer with
whom the petition is to be filed), and to the electors of the...
(State or counties of - comprising the district
or county, as the case may be) in the State of Montana :
I, , reside at
and my post office address is I am a candidate
on the nonpartisan judicial ticket for the nomination for the office of
at the primary nominating election to be
held in the (State of Montana or district or county).
on the day of , 19 and
if I am nominated as the candidate for such office I will accept the
nomination and will not withdraw, and if I am elected. I will qualify
as such officer.
98 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
Provided, however, that no such petition for judicial office shall
indicate the political party or political affiliations of the candidate,
and provided further that no candidate for judicial office may in his
petition for nomination state any measures or principles he advocates,
or have any statement of measure or principles which he advocates, or
any slogans, after his name on the nominating hallot as permitted by
Section 641, as amended by Chapter 133 of the Laws of the Eighteenth
Session of the Legislative Assembly of Montana of 1923.
Each person so filing a petition for nomination shall pay or remit
therewith the fee prescribed by law for the filing of such a petition
for the particular judicial position for which he aspires for nomina-
tion. All such petitions for Justices of the Supreme Court and Judges
of the several District Courts of the state shall lie filed with the Sec-
retary of State.
Section 4. On receipt of each of such petitions the Secretary of
State shall make corresponding entries in the "Register of Candidates
for Nomination'' as now provided by law. hut on a page or pages of
such register apart from entries made with reference to the district
candidates of political parties.
Section 5. At the same time and in the same manner as by law
he is required to arrange and certify the names of candidates for
other state offices the Secretary of State shall separately arrange and
certify and file as required by law. the names of all candidates for
judicial office, certifying to each County Clerk of the state the names
of all candidates for judicial office entitled to appear on the primary
ballot in his county, with all other information required by law to
appear upon the ballot, which lists of judicial candidates shall be made
upon separate sheets of paper from the lists of candidates to appear
under party or political headings.
Section 6. At the same time and in the same manner as lie is
by law required to prepare the primary election ballots for the sev-
eral political parties, the County Clerk of each county shall arrange,
prepare, and distribute official primary ballots for judicial offices
which shall be known and designated and entitled "Judicial Primary
Ballots," which shall be arranged as are other primary ballots, except
that the name of no political party shall appear thereon. The same
number of official judicial primary ballots and sample ballots shall be
furnished for each election precinct, as in the case of other primary
election ballots.
Section 7. Each elector having the right to vote at a primary
election shall be furnished with a separate •'Judicial Primary Ballot"
at the same time and in the same manner as he or she is furnished
with other ballots provided by law and each elector, without regard to
political party, may mark such "Judicial Primary Ballot" for one or
more persons of his choice for judicial nominations, depending on the
number to l>e nominated and elected, which shall be deposited in the
general ballot box provided. The official number of such judicial pri-
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 99
mary ballot so delivered and voted shall correspond t<> the official
number of the regular bailor of the elector. Every elector shall u-
entitled to vote, without regard to politics, for one or more persons
of his choice for nomination for judicial office, depending on the num-
Ikm- of places to be filled at the succeeding general election. Different
terms of office for the same position shall lie considered as separate
offices.
Section S. After tbe closing of the polls at a primary election, the
flection officers shall separately count and canvass the judicial pri-
mary ballots and make record thereof, and certify to tbe same, show-
ing the number of votes cast for each person upon tbe judicial primary
ballot, in addition to certifying the party vote or other matters voted
upon as required by law. Judicial ballots, their stubs, and unused bal-
lots, shall be disposed of in tbe same manner as other ballots, stubs
and unused ballots, and all returns made in the same manner now
provided by law.
Section 9. The candidates for nomination at any primary election
for any office within the provisions of this Act. to be filled at tbe
succeeding general election, equal in number to twice tbe number to
be elected at the succeeding general election, who shall have received
at such primary election the highest number of votes cast for nomi-
nation to the office for which they are candidates i or if the number
of all of the candidates voted for as aforesaid be not more than twice
the number to be elected, then all the candidates) shall be the nom-
inees for such office; and their names, and none other, except as here-
inafter provided, shall be printed as candidates for such respective of-
fices upon the official ballots which are provided according to law for
use at such succeeding primary or general election: provided that no
candidate shall be entitled to have his name placed on the judicial bal-
lot at tbe general election, in any form, unless he shall have been a
successful candidate at the primary election.
Section 10. In case of a tie vote, candidates receiving tie vote
for Justice of the Supreme Court or Judge of the District Courts shall
appear and cast lots before the Secretary of State on the fifth day after
such vote is officially canvassed. In case any such candidate shall fail
to appear either in person or by proxy in writing, before twelve o'clock
neen of the day appointed, the Secretary of State shall by lot deter-
mine the candidate whose name will be certified for the general election
and printed on the official ballot.
Section 11. If after any primary election, and before the succeed-
ing general electiou. any candidate nominated pursuant to the provi-
sions of this- Act. shall die or by virtue of any present or future law
become disqualified from or disentitled to have his name printed on
the ballot for the election, a vacancy shall be deemed to exist which
shall be filled by the otherwise unnominated and not disentitled can-
didate for the same office next in rank with respect to the number of
votes received in such primary election. If after the primary, and
100 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
before the general election, there should not be any candidate nomi
nated and living and entitled to have his name printed on the ballot
for any office which is within the provisions of this Act, or not enough
of such candidates to equal the number of persons to be elected to
such office, then the Governor in the case of Justices of the Supreme
Court and Judges of the District Court is authorized and empowered to
certify to the Secretary of State the names of persons qualified for
such office or offices equal in number to twice the number to be elected
at the general election, and the names of the persons so nominated
shall thereupon be printed on the official ballot in the same manner
as though regularly nominated at the judicial primary election. Nomi-
nations so made by the Governor to fill a vacancy shall not be deemed
filed too late if filed within ten days after the vacancy occurs, and in
case the ballots for the election have already been printed, stickers
may be used to place the names of such candidate upon the ballot.
Section 12. At every general election at which any candidate for
judicial office is to be voted upon the elector shall be provided with
a separate official ballot having the same identification upon the stub
thereof as the regular ballot plainly marked "Judicial Ballot." and tin-
count and canvass of such votes shall be separate from the regular
ballots of political parties. For the guidance of voters, the ballot shall
make suitable designation of the number of persons the elector may
vote for, for each particular office to be filled at such election.
Section 13. It shall be unlawful for any political party to en-
dorse any candidate for the office of Justice of the Supreme Court or
Judge of a District Court, and anyone who in any way participates
in such endorsement by any political party, or who purports to act on
behalf of any political party in endorsing any candidate, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor.
Section 14. In all counties of the state where voting machines are
now. or may hereafter l>e used in any elections, it shall be the duty
of tbe Clerk and Recorder to arrange the judicial ballot in both the
primary and general elections in tbe vertical column or horizontal row
or space, immediately following tbe column, row or space assigned the
first major political party immediately preceding the column, row or
space assigned the second major political party.
Section 15. All Acts and parts of Acts in conflict herewith are
hereby repealed, ami all laws pertaining to elections, both primary and
general, and to special elections, not in conflict herewith are hereby
declared applicable to the nomination and election of the officers herein
referred to. Approved March 14, 1935.
Election laws op Montana lol
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS— HOW CHOSEN
Section 813. ELECTORS, WHEN CHOSEN. At the general elec-
tion In November, preceding the time fixed by law of the United
States for the choice of President and Vice-Presideni of the United
States, there must be elected as many electors of President and Vice-
President as this state is entitled to appoint. The names of the Presi-
dential Electors shall appear on the ballot and in addition thereto.
preceding them, shall appear the names of the Presidential and Vice-
Presidential candidates in their respective party designated columns.
No square shall appear in front of the names of the Presidential Elec-
tors instead of which there shall he one square in front of the names
of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates. The ballot shall
also have the following direction printed thereon : '"To vote for the
Presidential Electors of any party, the voter shall place a cross in
the square before the names of the candidates for President and Vice-
President of said party." The numher of votes received by Presidential
and Vice-Presidential candidates shall, within the meaning of this Act,
be the number of votes to l>e credited to each of the Electors represent-
ing them. As amended by Chapter 4, Laws of 1933.
Section 814. The votes for Electors of President and Vice-Presi-
dent must be canvassed, certified to, and returned in the same manner
as the votes for state officers.
Section 815. The Governor must transmit to each of the electors
a certificate of election, and on or before the day of their meeting de-
liver to each of the electors a list of the names of electors, and must
do all other things required of him in the premises by any Act of
Congress in force at the time.
Section 816. The electors must assemble at the seat of government
the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December next fol-
lowing their election, at two o'clock in the afternoon. As amended by
Chapter 33, Laws of 1935.
Section 817. In case of the death or absence of any elector chosen,
or in case the number of electors from any cause be deficient, the elec-
tors then present must elect, from the citizens of the state, so many
persons as will supply such deficiency.
Section 818. The electors, when convened, must vote by ballot for
one person for President and one for Vice-President of the United
States, one of whom at least is not an inhabitant of this state.
Section 819. They must name in their ballots the persons voted
for as President, and in distinct ballots the persons voted for as Vice-
President.
Section S20. They must make distinct lists of all persons voted
for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of
the number of votes given for each.
102 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Section 821. They must certify, seal up, and transmit such lists
in the manner prescribed by the constitution and laws of the United
States.
Section 822. Electors receive the same pay and mileage as is al-
lowed to members of the Legislative Assembly.
Section 823. Their accounts therefor, certified by the Secretary of
the State, must be audited by the State Auditor, who must draw his
warrants for the same on the Treasurer, payable out of the general
fund.
CHAPTER 126
(Laws of 1927)
An Act Relating to Elections, Providing a Method of Electing Presi-
dential Electors and Delegates to National Conventions by Political
Parties, and Repealing all Acts and Parts of Acts in Conflict Here-
with.
Be It Enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Montana:
Section 1. The term Political Party as used in this Act shall in-
clude any party conducted for political purposes, which now has or
hereafter shall perfect a national organization.
Section 2. All political parties in Montana shall hereafter nomi-
nate their presidential electors and elect their delegates to National
Conventions in the manner provided by this Act. It shall be the duty
of each political party to select in each county in the state in such
manner as is now provided by law, or by the rules of the party in case
the law does not so provide, a precinct committeeman for each election
precinct, a county chairman in each county and a state chairman.
Section 3. In each year when a President of the United States is
to be chosen a county convention shall be held by each political party
on the second Tuesday in May in each county in the state, composed of
the county precinct committeemen of the party. The chairman of the
County Central Committee shall call said county convention and not
less than ten days nor more than two weeks before the date of the
convention, shall publish said call in a newspaper published at the
county seat and shall mail a copy of the call to each precinct committee-
man. In the event there is no county central committee in any count}.
the state central committee of the political party having no county
central committee in said county shall appoint a county central com-
mittee therein and said county central committee shall have the same
powers and duties as county central committee selected as now pro-
vided by law.
Section 4. The county chairman of the party shall preside at the
county convention. No person other than a duly elected or appointed
precinct committeeman shall be entitled to sit in said convention or
participate in its proceedings. No proxy shall be recognized unless held
by an elector of the precinct of the committeeman executing the same
In case of the absence of any precinct committeeman and his duly
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 103
appointed proxy, the convention may nil the vacancy by appointing
some qualified elector of the party, resident in the precinct, to repre-
sent such precinct in the convention.
Section 5. Said county convention shall organize by the appoint-
ment of a secretary, who, with the chairman of the meeting, shall issue
and sign certificates of election to the delegates and alternates elected
by the convention. The convention shall elect delegates and alternate
delegates to attend the state convention, in a number equal to the
total number of State Senators and Representatives elected from said
county to the Legislative Assembly.
Section 6. On the third Tuesday in May the delegates (or alter-
nate delegates in case any elected delegates cannot attend) shall hold a
state convention at the seat of government for the purpose of electing
delegates and alternates to the national convention of the party, and
presidential electors.
Section 7. Said state convention shall he conducted in accordance
with the party rules, subject, however, to the following requirements:
The Chairman of the State Central Committee shall call the state
convention and shall publish the call at least once in a newspaper
published at the seat of government. Said call shall be published not
less than ten (10) days nor more than two (2) weeks before the date
of the convention and a copy of the call shall be mailed to the County
Chairman in each county. The Chairman of the State Central Com-
mittee shall preside over the convention and, together with a secretary
chosen by the convention, shall sign certificates of election, which shall
be delivered as credentials to the several persons elected by the con-
vention as delegates to the national convention of said party, and cer-
tificates of nomination for presidential electors for said party which
shall be filed with the Secretary of State. Only regularly elected dele-
gates or alternates shall be entitled to sit in said convention or par-
ticipate in its proceedings and no proxies shall be recognized by the
convention. In case of the absence of a member or members of the
delegation elected from any county the delegates present for said county
shall be entitled to cast a number of votes equal to the number of
delegates elected to the convention from said county.
Section 8. The entire expense of conducting the county and state
conventions herein provided for shall be defrayed by the several political
parties, except that each elected delegate or alternate who shall at-
tend the state convention and participate therein shall receive the sum
of five (5c) cents per mile for each mile actually traveled by him in
going to and returning from said convention, said mileage to be com-
puted by the shortest practicable route, and to be paid out of the
general funds of the county in the same manner as other election
expenses.
Section 9. All Acts and parts of Acts in conflict herewith are
hereby repealed.
Approved March 9, 1927.
104 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS— ELECTIONS AND VACANCIES
Section 824. The election of Senators in Congress of the United
States for full terms must be held on the first Tuesday after the
first Monday in November next preceding the commencement of the
term to be filled ; and the election of Senators in Congress of the
United States to fill vacancies therein must be held at the time of
the next succeeding general state election following the occurrence of
such vacancy; if any election therefor be invalid or not held at such
time, then the same shall be held at the second succeeding general state
election. Nominations of candidates and elections to the office shall be
made in the same manner as is provided by law in case of (Jovernor.
Section 825. When a vacancy happens in the office of one or
more Senators from the State of Montana in the Congress of the United
States, the Governor of this state shall issue, under the seal of the
state, a writ or writs of election, to be held at the next succeeding
general state election, to fill such vacancy or vacancies by vote of the
electors of the state; provided, however, that the (Jovernor shall have
power to make temporary appointments to fill such vacancy or vacancies
until the electors shall have filled them.
Section 826. At the general election to be held in the year eighteen
hundred and ninety-two, and at the general election every two years
thereafter, there must be elected for each congressional district one
Representative to the Congress of the United States.
(Note — Montana is now entitled to two Representatives in Congress.)
Section 827. The vote for Representative in Congress must be
canvassed, certified to, and transmitted in the same manner as the
vote for state officers.
Section 828. The Governor must, upon the receipt of the state-
ment mentioned in Section 803 of tins Code, transmit to the person
elected a certificate of his election, sealed with the great seal and
attested by the Secretary of the State.
CHAPTER 27
An Act Providing for the Recount of Votes Cast at Any General or
Special Election, or at Any Municipal Election, by the Board of
County Canvassers Pursuant to an Order Therefor, Upon Application
Made to the District Court, or to a Judge Thereof, by Any Person
Who by the Statement of the Result of the Canvass of the Election
Returns by the Board of County Canvassers is Found Not to Have
Received the Highest Number of Votes for the Office for Which
Said Person Was a Candidate at Such Election ; and Providing for
the Correction of the Official Canvass by the Said Board of County
Canvassers to Conform to Such Recount ; and for the Cancellation
of the Certificate of Election Issued by the County Clerk if it Should
be Found by Such Recount That the Person to Whom the Certificate
Had Theretofore Been Issued Did Not Receive the Highest Number
of Votes of Said Office; and for the Issuance of a Certificate of
Election to the Successful Candidate as Disclosed by Said Recount;
and Repealing and Amending All Acts or Parts of Acts, or Section
of the Statute in Conflict Herewith.
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA 105
He It Enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of .Montana:
Section l. Any unsuccessful candidate for any public office m any
general or special election, or ai any municipal election, may within
fire days after the canvass of the election returns by the board or
body charged by law with the duty of canvassing such election returns.
apply to the District Court of the county in which said election is hold.
Or to any Judge thereof, for an order directed to such board to make a
recount of the votes cast at such election, in any or all of the election
precincts wherein the election was held, as hereinafter provided. Said
application shall set forth the grounds for a recount, and it shall he
verified by the applicant to the effect that the matters and things
therein stated are true to the best of the applicant's knowledge, infor-
mation and belief. Within five days after the filing of said applica-
tion in the office of the Clerk of said District Court, the said court,
or the Judge thereof, Shall hear and consider said application, and
determine the sufficiency thereof: and, if from said verified applica-
tion, the District Court, or the Judge thereof, finds that there is prob-
able cause for believing that the Judges and Clerks of Election did not
correctly count and ascertain the number of votes cast for such applicant
at any one or more of the election precincts that the Judges and Clerks
of Election might not have correctly counted and ascertained the num-
ber of votes cast for the applicant in any one or more election precincts,
then, or in either of such events, the court or judge shall make an
order addressed to the said Board of County Canvassers, requiring them
at the time and place fixed by said order, which time shall be not
more than five days from the making of such order to reassemble and
reconvene as a canvassing board, and to recount the ballots cast at
said election precinct or precincts of which complaint is made as in
said order specified.
Section 2. If it shall be made to appear by such verified appli-
cation that the Judges or Clerks of Election in any one or more
election precincts did not comply with each and all of the provisions
and requirements of Section 778 of the Revised Codes of Montana of
1921. in counting and ascertaining the number of votes cast for each
person voted for at said election, that shall be considered as sufficient
probable cause for believing that the Judges and Clerks of Election of
said election precinct, or precincts, did not correctly count and ascertain
the number of votes cast for the applicant in such election precinct
or precincts.
Section 3. If the Judge of said District Court of the county in
which said election is held be ill, or absent, or for any other reason
disqualified from acting, then and in that event another District Court
Judge shall be called in to hear and determine said application, either
by an order of a Judge of said District Court, or by an order by a
Justice of the Supreme Court id' the State of Montana. A failure to
hear, consider or determine said application within the time herein
provided, shall not divest the court of jurisdiction, but the said court
before which said application is presented and filed shall retain juris-
106 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
diction thereof for all purposes until said application is finally acted
upon, considered and determined, and until a final count is made and
had by the said Board of County Canvassers and the result thereof
finally determined as herein provided.
Section 4. If said application ask:< for a recount of the votes cast
in more than one election precinct, but the grounds thereof are not suf-
ficient for a recount in all, the court shall order a recount as to only
such precinct as to which there are sufficient grounds stated and shown.
The court in its order shall determine the probable expense of making
such recount, and the applicant or applicants asking for such recount
shall deposit with the said board the amount so determined and specified
in said order, in cash ; and if it be ascertained by said recount that the
applicant or applicants have been elected to said office, then and in
that event all money so deposited with said board shall be returned to
the said applicant or applicants, but if an applicant as a result of
said recount is found not to have been elected, then if the expense of
making said recount shall be greater than the estimated cost thereof
said applicants shall pay said excess, but if less than the estimated,
cost, then the difference shall be refunded to the applicant or applicants.
The expense of making said recount as herein provided, shall be the
salary of the members of the canvassing board for the period of time
required to make such recount, and the salary of two clerks at the rate
of not more than $8.00 per day each. If more than one candidate
makes application for a recount of the votes cast at said election, the
court may, in its discretion, consider such applications separately or
together, and may make separate or joint orders in relation thereto, and
apportion the expense between said applicants. The Board of Canvassers,
in recounting said ballots cast at said election, shall count the votes
cast in the respective precincts at to which a recount is ordered for
the several candidates in whose behalf a recount is ordered, at the same
time, in the following manner :
The County Clerk shall produce, unopened, the sealed package or
envelope received by him from tbe Judges of Election of the election
precinct, or precincts, as to which a recount is ordered, in which is
enclosed all ballots voted at such election in said precinct or precincts;
and the package or envelope must then be opened by a member of the
Board of County Canvassers in the presence and view of the other mem-
bers of said board and of the County Clerk, and of the candidates for
said office or offices as to which said recount is ordered, present
thereat. The ballots must then be taken from said package or envelope
by a member of the board, and in the presence of the candidate or
candidates seeking such recount, and the candidate or candidates who by
the first canvass was found to have received the highest number of
votes, the ballots must be taken singly by one of the members of the
Canvassing Board, and the contents thereof, while exposed to the view
of said candidates and of one of the other members of said Canvassing
Board, must be distinctly read aloud, and as the ballots are read,
two clerks must write at full length, on sheets to be known as tally
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA 107
sheets, which shall ix> previously prepared for thai puriiose, one for each
clerk, with the name of said respective candidates anil the office 01
Offices to which a recount is being made, with the numbers of such
election precincts as to which said recount is ordered, and the number
of votes for each person in said election precinct or precincts, At the
completion of said recount the tally sheets must then ho compared and
their correctness ascertained, and the total number of votes cast fur
any candidate determined. If, on such recount, the votes cast fur any
candidate who makes such application shall he cither more or less than
the number of votes shown upon the official returns for that person
and office, then the original returns shall he thereupon by the Clerk
of said Board of Canvassers, and under its direction, corrected so as to
state the number of votes ascertained on such recount.
The said Board of Canvassers shall thereupon cause its clerk to
enter on the records of said hoard the results of said election as de-
termined by such recount, and the clerk of said board shall thereupon
make out and deliver certificate of election in conformity to the result
ascertained by said recount.
The candidate who as a result of the original or first canvass of
the returns by the Board of Canvassers was found to he elected, shall
be served with a copy of the application, and shall be given an oppor-
tunity to be heard thereon, and he shall he permitted to he present
and to be represented at any recount ordered.
When said recount of the ballots in any election precinct has been
finished, the ballot shall then be again enclosed in the same package or
envelope in which they had been placed by the Judges of Election, and
in the presence and view of the County Clerk and the members of the
Board of Canvassers the said packages or envelopes shall again he
closed and sealed, and then again delivered into the custody of the
County Clerk.
Section 5. The Board of Canvassers shall make no recount of any
votes cast in any election precinct or for any office other than the pre-
cinct or precincts and office or offices specified in said order.
Section 6. If it shall be found and determined by said recount
that the person to whom the County Clerk has issued a certificate of
election pursuant to Section 797 of the Revised Codes of Montana of
1921, did not in fact receive the highest number of votes cast at said
election for said office, then the said certificate of election first issued
by said clerk shall be void, and the certificate of election issued by
said clerk pursuant to the findings and determination of said recount
shall be treated and considered, for all purposes as the only certificate
of election to said office, and the person named therein shall be the
person elected to said office.
Section 7. No Judge or Clerk of any Election, of any election pre-
cinct, as to which a recount is ordered shall receive any pay for his
or her services as such Judge or Clerk until the completion of such
recount by the said Canvassing Board, and if it shall be ascertained on
108 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
such recount that any applicant in whose behalf such recount is had.
has been elected, then in that event, the Judges and Clerks of the elec-
tion precincts in which the votes were found to have not been correctly
counted shall not be paid or receive any pay for their services as such.
Section 8. All Acts, or parts of Acts, or sections of the statute in
conflict herewith are hereby repealed, or are to be considered as
amended to conform to the provisions of this Act.
Approved February 16. 1935.
CONTESTING ELECTIONS
Section S2!>. Election contests are governed by the provisions of
Sections 659 to 661, and Sections 10810 to 10814 of these ('odes.
ELECTIONS RELATING TO SCHOOL MATTERS
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Section 931. There shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the
state, at the time and place of voting for members of the legislature,
a superintendent of public instruction, who shall have attained the age
of thirty years at the time of his election, and shall have resided within
the state two years next preceding his election, and is the holder of a
state certificate of the highest grade, issued in some state, and recog-
nized by the state board of education, or is a graduate of some uni-
versity, college, or normal school recognized by the state board of
education as of equal rank with the university of Montana or the state'
normal school. He shall hold his office at the seat of government for
the term of four years from the first Monday in January following his
election, and until his successor is elected and qualified. ******
County Superintendent of Schools.
Section 951. A county superintendent of schools shall he elected
in each organized county in this state at the general election preceding
the expiration of the term of office of the present incumbent, and
every two years thereafter.
School Trustees.
Section 985. Any person, male or female, who is a qualified Aroter
at any election under this Act, shall be eligible to the office of school
trustee in such district.
Section 986. In the districts of the first class, the number of trus-
tees shall be seven, in districts of the second class the number of
trustees shall be five, and in districts of the third class the number of
trustees shall be three.
Section 987. An annual election of school trustees shall be held in
each school district in the state on the first Saturday in April of each
year at the district schoolhouse, if there be one, and if there be none,
at a place designated by the board of trustees. In districts of the third
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 109
class having more than one schoolhouse where school is held, one trus-
tee must be elected from persons residing whore such outside schools
are locate<l.
Section 988. In districts of the second and third class, the names
of all candidates for membership <>n the school board must i>o received
and filed by the clerk and posted at each polling place at least five
days next preceding the election. Any five qualified electors of the dis-
trict may file with the clerk the nominations of as many persons as
are to be elected to the school hoard at the ensuing election.
Section 989. In districts of the second and third class, the election
of school trustees shall be held and conducted under the supervision of
the Board of School Trustees. The clerk of the school district must,
not less than fifteen days before the election required under this Act.
post notices in three public places in said district, and in incorporated
cities in each ward, which notices must specify the time and place of
election, and the hours during which the polls will he open. The trus-
tees must appoint by an order entered in their records three qualified
electors of said district, to act as judges at such election, and the clerk
of the district shall notify them by mail of their appointment. If the
judges named are not present at the time for opening the polls, the
electors present may appoint judges, and the judges so appointed shall
designate one of their number to act as clerk. The voting must he by
ballot, without reference to the general election laws in regard to nomi-
nations, form of ballot, or manner of voting, and the polls shall he open
for such length of time as the board of trustees may order; provided.
that such polls must be open from two p. m. to six p. m.
Section 990. In districts of the first class, no person shall he voted
for or elected as trustee unless he has heon nominated therefor by a
bona fide public meeting, held in the district at least ten days before
the day of election, and at which at least twenty qualified electors
were present, and a chairman and secretary were elected, and a cer-
tificate of such nomination, setting forth the place where the meeting
was held, giving the names of the candidates in full, and if there are
different terms to he filled, the term for which such candidate was nomi-
nated, duly certified by the chairman and secretary of such meeting,
shall be filed with the District Clerk at least eight days before the day
of election. The nomination and election of any person shall be void,
unless he was nominated at a meeting as above provided at which at
least twenty qualified electors were present, and his nomination certified
and filed as aforesaid, and the Board of Trustees acting as a canvass-
ing board shall not count any votes cast for any person, unless he has
been so nominated and a cerifticate thereof filed as herein required.
Section 991. The Board of Trustees shall, at least thirty days be-
fore the annual election of school trustees, by an order entered upon
the minutes of their meeting, designate and establish a suitable number
of polling-places and create an equal number of election precincts to
correspond, and define the boundaries thereof.
110 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Section 002. The District Clerk shall, at least fifteen days before
the election in districts of the first class, give notice of the election
to be held in all such districts, by posting a notice thereof in three
public places in the district, and in incorporated cities and towns in
each ward, which notices must specify the time and place of election,
the number of trustees, and the terms for which they are to be elected.
and the hours during which the polls will be open. Whenever, in the
judgment of the Board of Trustees, the best interests of the district will
be served by the publication of such notices of election in some news-
paper in the county, they may, by an order entered on the minutes of
their meeting, direct the District Clerk to publish the notice of election
required to be given in districts of the first class, in some newspaper
in the county.
Section 903. In districts of the first class the polls must be opened
at eight o'clock a. m. and kept open until twelve o'clock m.. and from
one o'clock p. m. until eight o'clock p. m.
Section 004. The Board of District Trustees shall, at least ten
days before the day of the annual election of trustees in any district
of the first class, appoint three qualified electors of the district for
each polling place established to act as judges of election, and the
District Clerk shall notify such persons by mail of their appointment
Such judges shall designate one of their number to act as clerk of such
election. If the judges appointed, or any of them, are noe present at
the time for the opening of the polls, the electors present may appoint
judges, who must be qualified electors, to act in the place of those
who are absent.
Section 005. In districts of the first class, the ballot shall show
the name or names of the candidates and the length of time for which
they are to be elected. These ballots shall be as near as possible in
the following form:
For School Trustees :
For Three (3) Year Term.
Vote for Three:
John Abner
AVilliam Brown
Adam Smith
For One (1) Year Term.
George Davis
Section 996. At every election held under this Act. a poll-list shall
lie kept by the judges and clerk at each polling-place, and immediately
after the close of the polls the judges shall count the ballots, and if
there be more ballots than votes cast the judges must draw by lot from
the ballots, without seeing them, sufficient number of ballots to make
the ballots remaining correspond with the number of votes cast. The
clerk shall write down in alphabetical order in a poll-book provided
for that purpose the name of every person voting at the time he de-
posits his ballot. There shall also be provided a tally-list for each polling
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 111
place; after the ballots have been counted ami made to agree with the
poll-list the judges shall proceed to count then:. The clerk shall enter
in the- tally-list the name of every person voted as trustee, and the
term and tally opposite his name the number of votes cast for him. and
at the end thereof set down in a column provided tor that purpose the
whole number of votes he received. The judges and clerk shall Bign a
certificate to said tally-list, setting forth the whole number of votes
cast for each person or trustee, designating the term, and they shall
verify the same as being correct, to the best of their knowledge, before
an officer authorized to administer oaths. No informalitly in such certi-
ficate shall vitiate the election, if the number of votes received for each
person can reasonably be ascertained from said tally-list. Said books
and tally-lists shall be returned to the Board of Trustees of the dis-
trict, who shall canvass the vote and cause the clerk of the district to
issue a certificate of election to the person or persons elected, designating
their term, a copy of which must be forwarded to the County Superin-
tendent of Schools. School Trustees are hereby authorized to administer
oaths to judges of election.
Section 997. Trustees elected shall take office immediately after
qualifying, and shall hold office for the term of three years except as
elsewhere expressly provided herein, and until their successors are
elected or appointed and qualified.
The clerk of the district shall, at the time of issuing certificate of
election to a person elected as trustee, deliver to such person a blank
oath of office. Every trustee shall file his oath of office with the
County Superintendent of Schools within fifteen days of the receipt of
the certificate of election and blank oath of office from the clerk. Any
trustee failing to qualify as herein provided shall forfeit all rights to
his office, and the County Superintendent of Schools shall appoint to
fill the vacancy caused thereby.
Section 998. A vacancy in the office shall be filled by appoint-
ment by the County Superintendent of Schools; provided, that in districts
of the first and second class, such appointments shall be subject to
confirmation by a majority of the remaining members of said board, if
those remaining constitute a majority of the total number of the board.
The trustees so appointed shall hold office until the next annual election,
at which election there shall l>e elected a school trustee for the unex-
pired term. When any vacancy occurs in the office of trustee of any
school district by death, resignation, failure to elect at the proper time,
removal from the district, or other cause, the fact of such vacancy shall
be immediately certified to the County Superintendent by the clerk of
the school district, and the County Superintendent shall immediately ap-
point in writing, some competent person, who shall qualify and serve
until the next annual school election. The County Superintendent shall
at the time notify the clerk of the school district of every such appoint-
ment; provided, that absence from the school district for sixty consecu-
tive days, or failure to attend three consecutive meetings of the Board
of Trustees without good excuse, shall constitute a vacancy in the office
of trustee.
112 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
Section 9J)f>. Any school trustee may be removed from office by
a court of competent jurisdiction by law for removal of elective civil
officers: provided, however, that upon charges being preferred and good
cause shown, the Board of County Commissioners may suspend a trus-
tee until such time as charges can be heard in the court having juris-
diction thereof.
Section 1000. Should the office of the clerk of the school district
become vacant, the Board of School Trustees shall immediately fill
such vacancy by appointment, and the chairman of the Board of School
Trustees shall immediately notify the County Superintendent of such
appointment.
Section 1001. When at any annual school election the terms of a
majority of the trustees regularly expire in districts of the first
class, three trustees, in districts of the second class, two trustees, in
districts of the third class, one trustee shall be elected for three years,
and the remaining trustee or trustees whose terms expire shall hold
over for one or two years as may be necessary to prevent the terms
of a majority of the Board of Trustees expiring in any one year;
provided, that it shall be determined by lot what trustees shall hold
over, and for what term.
Section 1002. Every citizen of the United States who has resided
in the State of Montana for one year, and thirty days in the school
district next preceding the election, may vote thereat. Women of the
age of twenty-one years and upwards, who are citizens of the United
States, and who have resided in the State of Montana one year, and
in the school district for thirty days next preceding the day of elec-
tion, may vote thereat.
Section 1003. Any person offering to vote may he challenged by
any elector of the district, and the judges must thereupon administer to
the person Challenged an oath or affirmation in substance as follows:
"You do solemnly swear (or affirm), that you are a citizen of the
Tinted States: that you are twenty-one years of age and that you have
resided in the state one year, and in this school district thirty days
next preceding this election, and that you have not voted this day. so
help you God." If he takes this oath or affirmation, his vote must he
received; otherwise rejected. Any person who shall swear falsely before
any such judge of election shall be guilty of perjury, and shall be
punished accordingly.
Section 1004. All the expenses necessarily incurred in the matter of
holding elections for school trustees shall be paid out of the school
funds of the district. Judges of election of districts of the first and
second class shall receive not to exceed three dollars per day each for
all services connected with the election.
Section 1014. The Board of Trustees shall have power to call a
special (dec! ion for the purpose of bonding the district for the erection
and furnishing buildings and purchase of school sites, and for permis-
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 113
sion to sell school property; provided, thai in districts of the first
and second class boards of trustees shall have power to change or select
school sites.
Section 101;j. Every school board unless otherwise specially pro-
vided by law shall have power and it shall be its duty: ***** s. To
purchase, acquire, sell and dispose of plots or parcels of land to be
used as sites for school houses, school dormitories and other school
buildings, and for other purposes in connection with the schools in the
district: to build, purchase or otherwise acquire school houses, school
dormitories and other buildings necessary in the operation of schools
of the district, and to sell and dispose of the same: provided, that they
shall not build or remove school houses or dormitories, nor purchase,
sell or locate school sites unless dircted so to do by a majority of the
electors of the district voting at an election held in the district for that
purpose, and such election shall be conducted and votes canvassed in the
same manner as at the annual election of school officers, and notice
thereof shall he given by the clerk by posting three notices in three
public places in the district at least ten days prior to such election,
which notices shall specify the time, place, and purpose of such election.
CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Section 1034. Two or more school districts may he consolidated,
either by the formation of a new district, or by the annexation of one
or more districts to an existing district, as hereinafter provided.
Whenever the County Superintendent of Schools receives a petition
signed and acknowledged by a majority of the resident freeholders of
each district affected, qualified to vote at school elections, praying for
consolidation, he shall within ten days cause a ten days' posted notice
to be given by the clerk in each district, such notice to be posted in
three public places, in each district, of an election in such district at
a time and place specified in each notice to vote on the question of con-
solidation. The votes at such election shall be by ballot, which shall
read "For consolidation" or ''Against consolidation." The presiding officer
at such election shall, within ten days thereafter, certify the result of
the vote to the County Superintendent of the county In which the dis-
trict mainly lies. If the majority of the votes cast in each district be for
consolidation, it carries, and the Superintendent, within ten days there-
after, shall make proper orders to give effect to such vote, and shall
thereafter transmit a copy thereof to the County Clerk and Recorder
of each county in which any part of any district lies, and to the clerk
of each district affected. If the order hi' for the formation of a new dis-
trict, it shall specify the name and number of such district, and he shall
appoint three trustees to serve until the first Saturday in April succeed-
ing. At the regular election succeeding there shall 1h> elected by the regu-
larly qualified electors three trustees, one of whom shall serve for one
year, one for two years, and one for three years. The election of trus-
tees and terms shall be the same as for other districts under the general
school laws. *******
114 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
"Section 1040. The following terms shall be construed to mean :
The "rural school district" shall mean the territory obtained by the
uniting of all third class districts and parts of first or second class
districts as may petition to become a part of the "rural school district."
"Subdivision" shall mean one of the four parts into which the "rural
school district" is divided for the purposes of election of trustees.
"Subdistrict" shall moan the local third class district as constituted
by Chapter 76 of the session laws of the thirteenth Legislative Assembly,
which is Section 1021 of the Revised Codes of Montana. 1921. As
amended by Chapter ITS. Laws of 1925.
Section 1041. All school districts and parts of school districts of
the third class and minor portions of any district of the first and second
class which may petition to withdraw from the first or second class
district as herein provided, shall for the purpose set forth in this Act.
from and after the first day of July 1925 together constitute a single dis-
trict to be known as the "rural school district" of the county in which it
is situated. Such rural district shall be a unit for the purpose of taxa-
tion and such other purposes as are hereinafter provided, and shall be
divided into subdivisions for the selection of trustees and consist of sub-
districts for the purpose of local management, local control, and custody
of property. The boundaries of the subdivisions shall be determined by
the Board of County (Commissioners who shall divide that portion of
the county to l>e included in the rural school district of the county, into
four parts which shall be known as subdivisions, each having as near
as may bo one-fourth of the total area of the rural school district, and
making the boundaries of those -parts coincide with the boundaries of
the sub-districts. All portions of first and second class districts, which
become a part of the rural school district as herein provided, shall be
attached to adjacent subdistriets in the manner provided by law. Boun-
daries of sub-divisions may be altered by County Commissioners at a
later date in case county division or other cause may unduly reduce or
increase the size of a subdivision or subdivisions.
"A majority of the school electors of rural sections of first and
second class districts residing not nearer than six miles to the largest
school in such first and second class districts may present a petition in
writing to the Board of County Commissioners asking for transfer from
the first or second class district to the rural school district, which pe-
tition shall describe the boundaries of the territory proposed to be trans-
ferred and the number of children affected by such transfer. Upon
receipt of such petition the County Commissioners shall call a meeting
for the purpose of considering such petition and shall notify all parties
interested including the Board of Trustees of the first or second class
district by posting or causing to be posted at least ten days prior to the
date of such meeting in at least three of the most public places in the
proposed territory to be transferred and in three of the most public
places in the remaining portion of the old district notices stating the time,
place and purpose of such meeting of the Board of County Commissioners,
which meeting of the Board of County Commissioners shall be not less
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 115
than twenty days from the date of the receipt by the board of such pe-
tition. The Board of County Commissioners at such special meeting shall
approve <>r deny the said petition and shall enter their approval <>r denial
upon the records of the county within ten days from the date of such
meeting. In case the petition is granted, such territory transferred may
1k> made a part of adjacent subdistricts or created a subdlstrict of the
rural school district." As amended by chapter ITS. Laws of 1925.
"Section 1042. Any county in the state may adopt the county unit
system for rural schools provided in the succeeding sections of tins
Act, on the conditions hereinafter prescribed as follows:
"Whenever, between the first day of December of any year and the
first day of April of the following year, twenty i>cr cent of the regis-
tered electors residing in the third class school districts of any county
shall petition the Board of County Commissioners requesting that the
county unit system for rural schools be established in such county, the
County Commissioners shall call an election to be held in all third class
districts of the county, within ninety days, and in any event not later
than the tenth day of May following. The County Commissioners shall
appoint precinct judges and clerks, and the election shall he conducted
in accordance with the general election law of the state, and the judges
and clerks of such election shall serve without compensation. The place
of election in each precinct shall be the established polling place in each
precinct. All registered electors residing in the proposed rural school
district and whose names appear upon the registration hooks of the
county upon the day of calling such election, shall be entitled to vote
upon such election. The polling hooks of any precinct shall not contain
the names of any registered electors residing in any district of the first
and second class. The County Clerk shall give twenty days' notice of
such election by publication in the official paper of the county that the
question of adopting the county unit system for rural schools will be
submitted to the qualified electors in all third class districts of the county
at the time designated. It shall not 1m- necessary to give notice of closing
of registration hooks of the county in elections held pursuant to the pro-
visions of this Act. But the registration hooks of the enmity Cor such
election shall automatically close upon the day of calling such election.
The qualified electors of the proposed rural school district shall vote by
ballot for or against the adoption of the county unit system for rural
schools. An elector desiring to vote for such adoption shall do so by
marking (X) on his ballot before the phrase. -For the rural school dis-
trict": an elector desiring to vote against such adoption shall do so by
marking (X) on his ballot before the phrase. "Against the rural school
district."
"After the election the ballots shall be counted and the votes can-
vassed and returns shall he made to the County Clerk in the manner
prescribed in the general election laws. If a majority of the votes cast
at the election is in favor of the county unit, the Board of County
Commissioners shall make and eider an order creating such rural school
district and establish the boundaries of each subdivision, and this Act
shall become effective in so far as the county is concerned.
116 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
"If a majority of the votes cast at such election is against organi-
zation of the rural school district, another election upon the question of
organizing a rural school district cannot be held until after the expira-
tion of two years.
•■As soon as the Board of County Commissioners has for the first
time established the boundaries of the subdivisions as hereinbefore
provided, the said Board of County Commissioners shall thereupon ap-
point one elector from among the residents of each of the four sub-
divisions of the rural school district of the county. Of these four trus-
tees so appointed two shall serve until the first regular school election
after their appointment, one until the second regular school election
after his appointment, and one until the third regular election after his
appointment, the terms of trustees so appointed to he determined by lot.
"The Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, the County
Superintendent of Schools and the County Treasurer shall he ex-bfficib
members of the board. No ex-officio member of the hoard may serve as
chairman, nor may such member receive any further remuneration for
his services than his regular salary for the other duties of his office.
The County Superintendent of Schools shall he ex-officio secretary of
the hoard and it shall he his duty to enforce rules, regulations and
orders of the board.
"In any county in which a rural school district is in operation at
the time of the passage of this Act the County Commissioners shall, at
least twenty days previous to the first ensuing school election, redistrict
the county into four subdivisions for purposes of election of trustees
from the rural school district as heretofore provided. In case the term
of one trustee of the rural school district is expiring in 1925 at the next
ensuing election no trustee shall be elected as his successor. In case the
terms of two trustees of the rural school district of such county are
expiring in 1925 it shall be determined by lot which one of the two mem-
bers shall continue on the hoard. On the third Saturday of April in such
county the chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, the County
Superintendent of Schools and the County Treasurer shall become ex-
officio members of the board of the rural school district as heretofore
provided in this section." As amended by Chapter ITS. Laws of l!)^o.
•'Section 1043. The elected trustees shall he electors of the subdi-
vision of the rural school district id' the county in which they are to serve.
Except as hereinbefore provided such trustees shall be elected at the an-
nual school election and shall serve for three years and until their suc-
cessors are elected or appointed and qualify.
"On or before fifteen days prior to the annual school election, there
may he filed with the secretary of the Board id' Trustees of the rural
school district, petitions signed by at least twenty-five qualified electors
id' each subdivision of the rural school district in which the term of a
trustee is about to expire, nominating candidates for trustees to be voted
for the ensuing election, and if any trustees are to be elected to com-
plete unexpired terms, as hereinafter provided, such petition shall state
whether the persons nominated therein are nominated for such unexpired
terms or for full terms of three years. The Board of Trustees shall
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 117
cause the names of all candidates Cor trustees of the rural school district
to be printed and scut to the clerk in each subdistricl of the pari in
which a trustee is to be elected, to be posted at each polling place at
least five days preceding the election. The election of school trustees
shall be held and conducted under the supervision of the trustees of the
local subdistrict. who shall not less than fifteen days before the annual
election post notices in three public places in their subdistricts. which
notices must specify the time and place of election and hours during
which the polls will be open. The local trustees must appoint, by an
order entered in their records, three qualified electors of said subdistricts
to act as judges at said election, and the local clerk shall notify them by
mail of their appointment. If the judges are not present at the time of
opening the polls, the electors present may appoint judges, and the judges
so appointed shall designate one of their number to act as clerk. The
voting must be by ballot without reference to the general election laws
in regard to nominations, forms of ballot, or manner of voting, and the
polls shall be open for such time as the board of trustees may order:
provided, that such polls must be open between two p. m. and six p. m.
It shall be the duty of the judges of the election to canvass the votes
cast in their respective subdistricts for trustees, and make returns of the
same to the County Clerk in the manner and form as may be prescribed
by the general election law of the state in so far as the same may be
applicable to school elections. The returns shall be canvassed and the
result declared by the County ('ommissioners and certificates of election
issued by the County Clerk in the same manner as may be prescribed by
the general election laws of the state in so far as the same may be
applicable thereto; provided that in the election of said board of trus-
tees the votes cast in each of the four subdivisions of the rural school
district shall be canvassed separately and the candidates receiving the
largest number of votes in any one subdivision shall Im> elected as the
trustee for such subdivision; provided, further, that no one shall be
eligible as trustee who is not at the time of his election or appointment
a bona fide resident and elector of ^he subdivision of the rural school
district for which he is elected.
"Persons elected or appointed as trustees shall qualify by taking an
oath to perform their duties according to law. Their oaths may be ad-
ministered by the County Superintendent or any other officer authorized
by law to administer oaths, and must be filed with the clerk of the
Board of Trustees within fifteen days after the election or appoint-
ment. The Board of County Commissioners shall appoint trustees to fill
vacancies in the Board of Rural School District Trustees ; provided, that
such appointment is confirmed by the majority of the remaining members
of such board. Trustees so appointed shall serve till the next regular
school election, at which election successors shall be elected to serve for
the unexpired balance of the term, if any." As amended by Chapter
178, Laws of 1925.
"Section 1044. The Board of Trustees of every rural school district
shall have only the powers and shall perform only the duties enume-
rated in this Act. The Board of Trustees of each subdistrict of the
rural school district shall have all the powers and perform all the duties
118 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
imposed upon trustees of school districts according to the provisions of
Chapter 7(> of the Session Laws of the Thirteenth Legislative Assembly
and Acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto, except as modi-
fied by the terms of this Act.
"The Board of Trustees of each subdistrict of the rural school dis-
trict shall not later than the last day of May prepare and certify to the
Board of Trustees of the rural school district, a budget containing an
estimate of all the different items of expenditures for operation and main-
tenance to be incurred by such subdistricts for the ensuing school year.
Such budget shall explain in detail the several items of estimated ex-
penditures, together with an explanation of the necessity therefor. Such
budget shall also be accompanied by a full and complete report of the
school facilities of the subdistrict and of the educational opportunities
afforded each child in such subdistrict. Any Board of Trustees of a
subdistrict making expenditures in excess of their budget shall have de-
ducted from their budget for the ensuing year the amount of such excess
expenditure, unless the County Board of Trustees authorized such expendi-
ture from its emergency fund.
"For high school expenses in excess of the revenues derived from
the high school levy of the county and for any extraordinary expendi-
ture or expenditures for any purpose other than operation and mainte-
nance of elementary schools to be incurred by a subdistrict, not included
in the budget for such subdistrict. as adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the rural school district, the Board of Trustees of such subdistrict
may cause to be levied upon the property in the subdistrict a special
tax pursuant to the provisions of Section 1203 of the Revised Codes of
Montana 1921.
"The Board of Trustees of the rural school district shall on the first
Monday in June, examine the budgets certified to it by the Trustees of
the several subdistricts, and from such budgets shall prepare a complete
budget for the rural school district, which shall provide for the furnish-
ing of reasonable educational facilities to every child in I he rural school
district, including the payment of U/>ard or rent, or both, and transporta-
tion of children from isolated sections, in cases where the same is more
expedient than maintaining a school in such isolated sections; all in-
terest on all outstanding bonds issued by such rural school district or
the payment of which has been assumed by such district, and so much of
the principal of any such bonds as is to become due during the ensuing
school year and also including any other reasonable item of expenditure
not herein enumerated, and necessary for carrying out the provisions of
this Act. Such budget shall contain the detailed estimated expenditures
of each subdistrict. Patrons shall have the right of appeal to the Board
of Trustees of the rural school district in case provisions of educational
opportunities of children have been neglected or overlooked by the Trus-
tees of the subdistrict, and the decision of the Trustees of the rural
school district shall be final.
"The Board of Trustees of every rural school district is hereby au-
thorized to include in the budget for any year as a separate item an
amount not in excess of a one-half mill levy to provide for the following
general purposes affecting the entire rural school district or for any of
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 119
them: The supervision of the health of students, employment of a truanl
Officer, provision for new students in any local district who may have
Come into said district alter the adoption of the budgel for said distri-l
and not provided for in said budget. They shall also he authorized to
provide a levy not in excess of one mill in any one year for establishing
a building fund for the erection of portable or other school buildings,
barns, dormitories or teacherages when the same are deemed necessary by
the Board of Trustees of the rural school district and to make provision
of necessary building facilities for isolated and social cases. Whenever
such extra levies are made the Board of Trustees of the rural school
district shall specify the purposes for which same are to be used and
make the expenditures for said purposes as set out in said budget.
"The Board of Trustees of the rural school district shall on or be-
fore the second Monday in June in each year certify to the Board of
County Commissioners the total amount of money required in excess of
the state and county apportionments to he raised by taxation for the
rural school district pursuant to the budget adopted by the board, and
the Board of County Commissioners shall cause to he levied at the time
of the levy for taxes for state and county purposes, a sufficient levy
upon all of the taxable property within the rural school district to raise
the amount of money so certified by the Board of Trustees of the rural
school district, after allowing a deduction of ten per cent on account of
delinquencies. The Board of Trustees of the rural school district shall
at its regular meeting held on the second Thursday in December, appor-
tion to the several suhdistricts their proportionate part of the taxes then
collected, such proportionate part to be determined in accordance with
the budget as above mentioned. They may at this meeting make such
adjustments in the budgets as may seem necessary because of new con-
ditions arising since the budgets were allowed.
"Any warrant issued by any subdistrict board, except for salaries,
shall be countersigned by the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the
rural school district. Said secretary is authorized to countersign only
such warrants as are drawn in payment of expenses approved by the
Board of Trustees of the rural school district in the budget of the suh-
district. Hereafter all warrants issued by suhdistricts shall carry the
notation "This warrant not valid, except for salaries, unless counter-
signed by the Secretary of Board of Trustees of the rural school district."
"The Board of Trustees of the rural school district is authorized to
close schools with an enrollment of fewer than five pupils, if in the
judgment of said hoard such children can be cared for more economically
and in a satisfactory manner in another school. Said board shall also
be empowered to place textbooks and equipment of schools closed in
other communities where such materials are needed, provided that such
textbooks and equipment shall be replaced or new materials shall be pro-
vided in their stead at such time as it may become desirable to reopen
said school.
"The faith of the rural school district is solemnly pledged for the
payment of the interest and the redemption of the principal of the bonds
which at the time when this Act takes effect have been issued or as-
120 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
sumed by the rural school district. And for the purpose of enforcing
the provisions of this chapter, the rural school district shall be a body
corporate, which may sue and l>e sued by or in the name of the Board
of School Trustees of such district.
"The Board of Trustees of the rural school district shall be au-
thorized to establish a salary schedule based upon teaching experience,
training and certification of teachers and to determine transportation
rates and allowances for board and house rent.'' As amended by Chapter
178, Laws of 1925.
Section 1045. All sinking funds on hand as a surplus or credit to
the various third class districts in any county prior to and on July 1
of the year in which the provisions of this Act shall be accepted in
such county shall remain as the sinking funds of the several subdistricts
and in no event may they be used for any other purpose than as the
sinking fund of the subdistrict. All moneys to the credit of the general
or special funds of subdistricts prior to and on July 1 of the year in
which the provisions of this Act shall be accepted shall remain to credit
of such general or special funds of subdistricts and shall serve to re-
duce the levies of such subdistricts the first year as many mills as would
be required to procure by special levy on the subdistrict the amount of
money on hand to the credit of the subdistrict. unless such funds are
required for meeting contracts already entered into when the rural
school district began to operate.
"All of the existing indebtedness of the various third class districts
in any county prior to and on July 1 of such year, whether for main-
tenance or bonded indebtedness, or otherwise, shall remain the indebted-
ness of and be paid by the subdistricts. such payments being made
from a subdistrict special levy for that purpose." As amended by Chap-
ter 178. Laws of 1925.
Section 104G. Second-class districts may be created from the terri-
tory embraced in any rural school district, within the discretion of the
Board of Trustees of such rural school district ; provided, that such
proposed district has an assessed valuation of not less than Six Hun-
dred Thousand Dollars. Such district shall be created only upon the
petition of one hundred qualified electors residing in the proposed
district, setting forth in the petition the assessed valuation and the
boundaries of the proposed district. In the event of the creation of
such district, the County Superintendent of Schools shall, upon notice
received from the Board of Trustees of the rural school district, appoint
five Trustees for the newly created district, who shall serve until the
next regular election.
All school property situated in the new district shall become the
property of the new district, and the remainder of the property of the
rural school district shall continue to be the property of the rural school
district.
If, at the time such new district is created, there is any indebted-
ness against the rural school district, then the Board of County Commis-
sioners of the county in which such districts are located shall, at its
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 121
first regular meeting after the order creating said new district is made,
apportion such Indebtedness between said districts, by Firsi deducting
from said Indebtedness the amounl of .-ill moneys in the treasury be
longing to the sinking fund of said rural school district, and then appor
Honing the remainder of the indebtedness between the respective dis-
tricts in proportion to the value of the school property remaining in the
rural school district to the value of the school property in the new dis-
trict. Upon the adjustment of such indebtedness, it shall be the duty of
(he Board of Trustees of SUCh new district to cause to be made out,
issued, and delivered to the Trustees of such rural school district, war-
rants equal to the amount of such indebtedness apportioned to such new-
district, which warrants, upon presentation, shall be indorsed by the
treasurer of the county. "Not paid for want Of funds." and shall there-
after draw interest at the rate of six per cent per annum until such
time as funds may be availahle for their payment.
Until said warrants are paid, it shall be the duty of the Board of
County Commissioners of said county to levy annually a tax upon the
taxable property of such new school district, sufficient to pay the in-
terest on said warrants, and the money realized from the levy of such
taxes shall be, by the County Treasurer, kept in a special fund to be
used solely for the purpose of paying the interest and principal of
said warrants.
The School Trustees of such new district shall have, and are hereby
given the power and authority to issue, on the credit of their district,
coupon bonds and to sell and dispose of the same for the purpose of
providing the necessary funds to pay such warrants. Such bonds shall
be issued and disposed of upon condition and in the manner provided
in Section 1235 of this Code, except that said bonds shall recite in the
body of such bond that "This bond is issued for the purpose of pro-
viding funds to pay outstanding warrants."
Section 1047. "The regular animal meeting of the Board of Trus-
tees of the rural school district shall be held on the first Thursday in
July. At this meeting new members elected shall take office: a presi-
dent shall be elected for the ensuing year by the board, from among its
own membership: and the executive officers of the board shall make
their annual reports. Another regular meeting shall be held on the
second Thursday in December and special meetings may be called by the
president, or by three other members of the board. Bach member of the
Board of Trustees of the rural school district shall lie paid from the
general fund of the county his necessary traveling expenses in attend-
ing regular meetings, but not to exceed four special meetings, and an
honorarium of seventy-five dollars per year. Failure to attend two
regular meetings in succession, unless excused on account of sickness,
shall work a forfeiture of the office." As amended by Chapter 68, Laws
of 1923.
''Section 1048. A rural school district organized under the provi-
sions of this Act may be dissolved after the expiration of four years
from the date of its organization, in the following manner, to-wit :
122 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
"Whenever, between the first day of January and the first day of
March in any year after four full school years have expired twenty
per cent of the registered electors in a rural school district shall petition
the Board of Trustees of the rural school district requesting the dis-
solution of such school district, the Board of Trustees of the rural school
district shall submit such petition to the County Clerk, and the County
Commissioners shall call an election which shall be held in all third
class districts of the county and conducted in the manner prescribed
for the adoption of the rural school district as set forth in Section 1
of this Act. If a majority of votes cast at such election shall be in
favor of the dissolution of the rural school district, the Board of County
Commissioners shall make an order to that effect and on and after
July first the rural school district shall be dissolved and the several
subdistricts shall thereupon become school districts of the third class.
"If the election for the dissolution of such school district should
fail to carry, another election upon the question of dissolution of such
school district may not be held until after the expiration of two years.
"The Board of County Commissioners shall distribute funds of the
rural school district and apportion the indebtedness of the rural school
district in the following manner. Each school district (formerly a sub-
district) shall thereupon become the owner of all the property of the rural
school district located within its boundaries. The County Commissioners
shall apportion to each school district that portion of the funds of
the rural school district other than sinking funds, which is in propor-
tion to the number of school census children within the school district.
Provided that in the counties where the rural school district was or-
ganized prior to the passage of this Act the County Commissioners of
the county shall continue to levy the taxes upon all the property located
within the territory which formerly constituted the rural school district,
until the interest and principal of all bonds issued by the rural school
district shall have been paid in full." As amended by Chapter ITS,
Laws of 1925.
Section 1178. Whenever, in the judgment of the Board of Trustees
of any school district of the third class, it is desirable to select, pur-
chase, exchange, or sell a school house site, or whenever petitioned so
to do by one-third of the voters of such district, the District Board shall
without delay call a meeting at some convenient time and place fixed
by the board to vote upon such question of selection, purchase, exchange,
or sale of school house site. Such election shall be conducted and votes
canvassed in the same manner as at the annual election of school of-
ficers. Three notices giving the time, place and purpose of such meet-
ing shall be posted in three public places in the district by the clerk at
least ten days prior to such meeting. If a majority of the electors of
the district voting at such meeting or election shall be in favor of
selecting, purchasing, exchanging, or selling the school house site, the
board shall carry out the will of the voters thus expressed ; provided,
that all sites so chosen must be approved by the County Superintendent
■ of Schools and the County Health Officer ; and also provided that any
election laws or Montana 123
sites so changed cannol again ix> changed within three years from the
date of such action, except upon the advice of the County Superin
tendenl of Schools and County Health officer.
The school site shall be selected In a place thai Is convenient, ac-
cessible, suitable, and well drained; provided, thai in districts of the
first and second class, the site shall he not less than one-half of an
average City block, and in districts of the third class shall contain not
less than one acre. The State Board of Land Commissioners shall have
authority to sell to any school district at the appraised value, or to
lease for any period of time less than ninety-nine years, at a rental of
one dollar per year, any tract of state land not exceeding ten acres,
to be used for school honse site.
Section 1210. Said fund (Building and Furnishing Fund) may be
used for general school purposes, if a majority of the qualified electors
of such district shall so elect, upon such question being duly submitted
to them at any regular or special election therefor.
EXTRA TAXATION FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES
Section 1210. District School Taxes in Excess of Ten Mill Levy.
Election. — Whenever the Board of Trustees of any school district shall
deem it necessary to raise money by taxation, in excess of the ten mill
levy now allowed by law. for the purpose of maintaining the schools
of said district, or building, altering, repairing or enlarging any school
house or houses of such district, for furnishing additional school facili-
ties for said district, for building and equipping heating or other plants
for said district, or for any other purposes necessary for the proper
operation and maintenance of the schools in said district, said Board
of Trustees shall determine and fix the amount necessary and require
for such purpose or purposes in addition to such ten mill tax levy and
it shall submit the question of an additional levy to raise said amount
to the qualified electors residing within the district who are taxpayers
upon property therein and whose names appear upon the last completed
assessment roll of the county for state, county and school taxes, either
at the regular annual election held in said district or at a special
election called for that purpose by the Board of Trustees of said
district.
Section 1220. Where the question of making such additional levy
is so submitted, notice thereof shall be given by posting the same at
each schoolhouse in said district, at least ten days before such elec-
tion, or by publication thereof for a like period before such election in
each newspaper published in said district, or by both such notice and
publication.
Section 1221. Purposes of Levy to be Submitted — Use of Funds.
In submitting such question there shall be specified the amount to be
raised by such additional tax levy and the approximate number of mills
required to raise such amount and the purpose for which the same is
to be expended and if authorized the money raised by such additional
tax levy shall be used for that specified purpose only ; provided, that
124 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
if any balance remains on hand after the purpose for which said levy
was made has been accomplished, said balance may. by the vote of
the trustees of said district, lie transferred to any other fund of such
district.
Section 1222. Fonn and Marking of Ballot — Conduct of Election.
The ballot furnished electors at said election shall have printed thereon
the following: (Shall a levy be made in addition to the regular ten
mill levy authorized by law in such number of mils as may be neces-
sary to raise the sum of (state the amount to be raised by additional
tax levy) for the purpose of (insert the purpose for which the additional
tax levy is made)?
□
□
For an additional levy to raise the sum of (state the amount
to be raised by additional tax levy), and being approximately
(give number) of mills.
Against an additional tax levy to raise the sum of (state
amount to be raised by additional tax levy), and being approxi-
mately (give number) of mills.
The voters shall mark the ballots in the same manner as ballots
are marked under the election laws of this state. The election shall
be held, votes canvassed and returns made as in other school elections.
If the majority voting on the cpiestion are in favor of such additional
levy, the Board of Trustees of said school district shall so certify to
the Board of County Commissioners of the county in which said school
district is situated the amount authorized by such election to be raised
by such additional levy and such Board of County Commissioners shall
make such additional levy in such number of mills as will raise such
amount in the same manner that the levy for special taxes in said
district is made.
Section 122:'.. Any person offering to vote may be challenged by
any elector of the district, and the judges must thereupon administer
to the person challenged an oath or affirmation, in substance as fol-
lows :
"You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you are a citizen of the
United States; that you are twenty-one years of age: that you have
resided in this state oik' year and in this school district thirty days
next preceding this election: that you are a taxpaying freeholder on
the last assessment roll from this school district : and that you have not
voted this day. So help you God."
In all districts of the third class, in administering said oath or
affirmation, the judges must substitute the word 'taxpayer1 for the
words "taxpaying freeholder.9 Said oath shall be reduced to writing
and signed by the person challenged and sworn to before one of the
judges of election. Said oath or affirmation shall be returned with the
ballots cast at such election. If the voter takes oath or affirmation,
his vote must be received ; otherwise, it will he rejected. Any person
who shall swear falsely before any such judge of election shall be
guilty of perjury, and shall be punished accordingly." As amended by
Chapter 120, Laws of 1925.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 120
SCHOOL DISTRICT BONDS
CHAPTER 1 17
i Laws of 1927)
An Act Relating to School Districl Bonds; Granting Boards of Trus-
tees of School Districts of all ('lasses the Power to Issue. Negotiate
and Sell or Exchange Bonds for Certain Purposes under Certain
Limitations and Restrictions: Providing the manner of Holding Bond
Elections and Prescribing the Qualifications of Electors; Prescribing
the Procedure Governing the Issuing, Sale, or Exchange of Such
Bonds; Providing for Payment of the Principal and Interest of Such
Bonds: Prescribing the Duties of Hoards of School Trustees, Boards
of Comity Commissioners, and County Treasurers in Connection with
the Levying and Collection of Taxes for the Payment of Principal
and Interest on Such Bonds; and Repealing Sections 1032, 12."><>. 12:12.
and Sections 1244 to 12.~>1 inclusive, of the Revised Codes of Montana
of 1921: Repealing Sections 1224. 1225, 1226, 1228 and 1229 of the
Revised Codes of Montana of 1921, as Amended by Chapter 153 of tin-
Laws of the Eighteenth Legislative Assembly : Repealing the said
Chapter 153, and all other Acts and Parts of Acts in Conflict with
the Provisions of this Act.
Section 6. CERTAIN BONDS MAY BE ISSUED WITHOUT HOLD-
ING AN ELECTION. Bonds issued for the purpose of providing the
necessary funds to pay indebtedness to another district, or districts.
and bonds issued for the purpose of providing necessary funds to pay
and redeem outstanding bonds which were issued prior to March 1st.
1924. as authorized in subdivisions "f" and "g" of Section One of this
Act. may be issued without submitting the question of so doing at an
election. In order to issue bonds for such purposes it shall only be
.necessary for the Board of School Trustees, at a regular or duly called
special meeting of the board, to pass and adopt a resolution setting
forth the facts in regard to the indebtedness to be paid or the bonds to
be refunded, showing the reasons for issuing new bonds and fixing and
determining the details of such new bonds, and then to give notice of
the sale of such new bonds in the same manner that notice is required
to be given of the sale of bonds authorized at a school election.
Section 8. PETITION AND ELECTION REQUIRED FOR BOND
ISSUES EOR OTHER PURPOSES. School district bonds for any
other purpose than those stated in Sections Six and Seven of this Act,
shall not be issued unless authorized at a duly called election at which
the question of issuing such bonds was submitted to th<' electors of the
school district; and no such election shall lie called unless there has
l>een presented to the Board of Trustees a petition asking that such
election be held and smh question be submitted, signed by not less than
twenty per centum (20%) of the qualified registered electors residing
within the school district, who are taxpayers upon property therein
and whose names appear on the last completed assessment roll for
state, county and school district taxes.
Section 9. EORM. CONTENTS AND PROOF OF PETITION. The
petition for the calling of an election to vote upon the question of
126 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
issuing school district bonds shall plainly state the purpose of the pro-
posed bond issue and shall estimate the amount of bonds necessary to
be issued for such purpose or purposes. When the bonds sought to be
issued are for two or more purposes, the amount to be issued for each
single purpose shall be separately estimated in the petition. It may be
in the form of one single petition or consist of more than one petition,
all being identical in form and fastened together, after being circulated
and signed, so as to form one petition before being delivered to the
County Clerk as hereinafter provided. The school district clerk or any
one or more qualified electors of the school district may circulate the
petition or petitions, and the clerk or each elector circulating such peti-
tion shall subscribe or attach to each of the petitions, circulated by
him, an affidavit to the effect that the signatures are genuine and
that the signers knew the contents thereof at the time of signing the
same. The completed petition, before being presented to the Board of
School Trustees, shall be delivered to the County Clerk and Recorder
of the county in which the school district is situated, who shall ex-
amine the same and shall endorse thereon or attach thereto his certi-
ficate, which certificate shall set forth :
(a) The total number of persons who are registered electors and
taxpayers upon property within the school district whose names appear
on the last completed assessment roll for state, county and school
district taxes.
(b) Which and how many of the persons whose names are sub-
scribed to the petition are possessed of all of these qualifications.
(c) Whether such qualified signers constitute more or less than
twenty per centum (20%) of such registered electors and taxpayers
within the district.
The County Clerk and Recorder shall promptly deliver or transmit
such petition, with his certificate endorsed thereon or attached thereto.
to the Clerk of the Board of School Trustees of such district.
Section 10. MEETING OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO CONSIDER
PETITION AND CALLING OF ELECTIONS. Upon such petition being
received by the clerk of the school district, a meeting of the Board
of Trustees shall be called to consider the same. The Board of Trus-
tees shall be the judges of the sufficiency of the petition and the find-
ings of such board shall he conclusive against the school district and
in favor of the innocent holder of bonds issued pursuant to the elec-
tion called and held by reason of the presentation of such petition. If
it is found Unit the petition is in proper form and bears the requisite
number of signatures, the board shall pass and adopt a resolution which
shall recite the essential facts in regard to the petition and its pre-
sentation, fix the exact amount of bonds proposed to be issued, which
may be more or less than the amount estimated in the petition, de-
termine the number of years through which the bonds are to be paid,
not to exceed twenty (20) years, fix the date of election, which shall
not be less than twenty (20) days, nor more than thirty (30) days after
the date of the passage and adoption of such resolution, appoint three
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 127
electors of t lie district who arc qualified to vote at such election to act
as judges of election, and direct the clerk to give notice <>r such election.
The notice of election shall designate some certain school house in aaid
school district and be in substantially the following form:
"NOTIOE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT BOND ELECTION.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the undersigned clerk of School
District No of County. State of Montana, that
pursuant to a certain resolution duly adopted at a meeting of the Board
of Trustees of the said school district held on the day of
A. D., 19 an election of the registered qualified electors
of School District No of County, State of Montan;) .
who are taxpayers therein and whose names appear on the last com-
pleted assessment roll for state, county and school district taxes prior
to the holding of such election, will be held on the day of ,
A. D.. 19 , at for the purpose of voting upon the question of
whether or not the Board of School Trustees shall be authorized to
issue and sell bonds of said school district in the amount of
Dollars ($ ), bearing interest at a rate not to exceed six per
centum (6%) per annum, payable semi-annually, for the purpose of
(Here state purpose) The bonds to be issued
will be either amortization or serial bonds, and amortization bonds will
he the first choice of the Board of Trustees. The bonds to be issued,
whether amortization or serial bonds, will he payable in installments
over a period of (State number) years, and redeemable
in full five (5) years from the date of issue.
The polls will be open from ....o'clock.. M. and until
o"clock. M. of the said day.
Dated and posted this day of A. D., 19
Clerk of School District No
County, State of Montana."
If the bonds proposed to be issued arc for more than one purpose,
then each purpose shall be separately stated in the notice together with
the proposed amount of bonds therefor.
The school district clerk shall, not less than fifteen (15) days be-
fore the day specified for such election, post notice of such election in
not less than three (3) public places within the district, and in in-
corporated cities and towns at least one (1) notice must be posted
at each voting place designated for such election.
In school districts of the first class the Board of Trustees must
also cause the notice to be published once a week for two (2) suc-
cessive weeks in some newspaper of general circulation in the district,
if one be published therein, in addition to such posting.
128 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Sction 11. PREPARATION OF BALLOTS. The school district
clerk shall cause ballots to be prepared for all such bond elections,
and whenever bonds for more than one purpose are to he voted upon
at the same election, separate ballots shall be prepared for each pur-
pose. All such ballots shall be substantially in the following form:
OFFICIAL P, A I .LOT
SCHOOL DISTRICT BOND ELECTION
INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTERS: Make an N or similar mark in
the vacant square before the words "BONDS — 'YES"' if von wish to
vote for the bond issue; if you are opposed to the bond issue make an
X or similar mark in the square before the words '"BONDS — NO".
Shall the Board of Trustees be authorized to issue and sell bonds
of this school district in the amount of ...Dollars (•$ )
bearing interest at a rati' not exceeding six per centum (6$ • per
annum, payable semi-annually, during a period not exceeding
years, redeemable at any time after five years, for the purpose of
(Here state the purpose the same way as in the notice of election.)
□ BONDS— YES.
□ BONDS— NO.
Sction 12. WHO ENTITLED TO VOTE. LIST OF ELECTORS
AND POLL BOOKS. In all school district bond elections hereafter
held only qualified registered electors residing within the district who
are taxpayers upon property therein and whose names appear upon the
last completed assessment roll for state, county and school district
taxes, shall have the right to vote. Upon the adoption of the resolu-
tion calling for the election, the clerk of the school district shall notify
the County Clerk of the date on which the election is to he held, and
qualified persons shall be allowed to register for such election up till
noon of the fifteenth (15th) day prior to the date thereof. At that
time the registration hooks shall he closed for such election, hut it
shall not he necessary to give any notice of such closing of the regis-
tration books.
After the closing of the registration hooks for such election the
County Clerk shall promptly prepare lists of the registered electors
of such district who are taxpayers upon property therein and whose
names appear on the last completed assessment roll for state, county
and school district taxes, and who are entitled to vote at such election,
and shall prepare poll hooks for such election, as provided in Section
568 of the Revised Codes id' .Montana of L921, and deliver the same to
the school district clerk who shall deliver the same to the judges prior
to the opening of the polls. In school districts of the first class it
shall be the duty of the school district clerk to post such lists in five
(."»i public and conspicuous places within the district at least ten (10)
days prior to the date of election. It shall not be necessary to post
such lists in districts of the second and third class. A charge of five
cents per name for the use and benefit of the county shall be made by
the County Clerk for preparing such lists and poll books.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 129
Section 13. CONDUCT <»r ELECTION. The bond election Bhall
be conducted in the manner prescribed for the election of school trus-
tees and returns shall be made and canvassed In a similar manner.
Section 14. PERCENTAGE OF ELECTORS "REQUIRED TO AU-
THORIZE BO\D ISSUE. Whenever the question of Issuing bonds for
any purpose is submitted to the qualified electors of a school district
at either a general or special school election not less than fifty-one
(oil per centum of the qualified (doctors entitled to vote on such
question at such election must vole thereon, otherwise such question
shall be deemed to have hern rejected ; provided, however, that if
fifty-one (51) per centum or more of such qualified electors do vote
on such question at such election and a majority of such votes shall
be cast in favor of such proposition, then such proposition shall be
deemed to have been approved and adopted.
Section 15. MEETING OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO CANVASS
ELECTION RETURNS: RESOLUTION EOR BOND ISSUE. If such
election shall authorize the issuance of such bonds, the Board of Trus-
tees shall within sixty (60) days from the date of such election pass
and adopt a resolution providing for the issue of the bonds: provided
that such bonds may be issued in one or more series or installments
as the board may in such resolution direct. This resolution shall recite
the amount of bonds to be issued, the maximum rat*1 of interest, the
purpose of the issue, the date they shall bear, and the period of time
through which they shall be paid, and providing the manner of execu
Hon of same. It shall provide for giving preference to amortization
bonds, but shall fix the denomination of serial bonds in case it shall
be found necessary to issue bonds in that form, and shall direct the
clerk to give notice of the sale of the bonds.
Section 1252. No election for the issuance of bonds of any school
district, or of any town, or city, or county shall be called except upon
presentation of a petition therefor to the Board of School Trustees, or
to the Town or City Council, or to the Board of County Commissioners,
as the case may be. signed by at least twenty per cent of the qualified
registered electors who are taxpayers upon property within said school
district, town, city or county, and whose names appear on the assess
ment-roll for the year next preceding such election, praying for the
calling of said election; provided that the Board of County Commis-
sioners, Board of School Trustees, Town or City Council, as the case
may be, shall determine as to the sufficiency of such petition, and the
findings of such governing body shall he conclusive against the munici-
pality in favor of any innocent bidder of the bonds issued under and
by virtue of authority conferred by election provided by this Act.
Section 1253. In all elections hereafter held for the issuance of
bonds of any school district, town or city, only qualified registered
electors who are taxpayers upon property therein, and whose names
appear on the assessment-roll for the year next preceding such election,
shall be entitled to vote thereat.
130 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Section 1277. Nothing in this Act shall lie construed to amend
or repeal any of the provisions of an Act entitled: "An Act requiring
a petition of 20 per cent, of the qualified electors who are taxpayers
to authorize the voting upon the issuance of any school, town, city or
county bonds, and providing who are entitled to vote thereon." enacted
by the 17th Legislative Assembly of Montana (Sec. 1253 of this Code),
and that all other Acts and parts of Acts in conflict herewith are
hereby repealed.
HIGH SCHOOL CODE
(Chapter 14S. Laws 1!):!1)
chapter :;
BOND ISSUES
Section 12. Bond Issues. Submission to Electors of Question. If
in any county maintaining a county high school in which no district
high school is maintained, not less than twenty per centum (20%) of
the registered voters who on the last completed assessment roll of the
county were assessed in their own names on real or personal property
in the county shall present to the Board of Trustees of the county
high school a petition asking that there he submitted the question
whether bonds id' the county shall lie issued for the purchase or erec-
tion of a high school building or buildings and/or for the repairing,
remodeling, or enlarging thereof, and/or for the purchase of equipment
thereof and/or for the purchase, erection and/or equipment of a hijrh
school dormitory or dormitories, or gymnasium, and/or for the pur-
chase of a suitable site or sites for such buildings, or any of them,
and/or to retire or refund any outstanding bonds issued for any of the
purposes foregoing, and if such petition shall specify tin-rein the amount
of the bonds to be issued, and if the Board of Trustees of the county
high school shall upon the presentation to it of the said petition, ap-
prove the same, and the issuance of bonds of the county to the amount
therein mentioned and for the purpose or purposes therein specified,
the secretary of the said board shall forthwith in the name of the
Board of Trustees request the Hoard of County Commissioners of the
county to submit without delay to the registered voters of such county
the question whether bonds of the county shall be issued and sold to
tin' amount and for the purpose or purposes in the petition set forth.
Section 13. Duty of Hoard of County Commissioners. Immediately
upon the receipt of any such request it shall be the duty of the Hoard
of County Commissioners to submit such question to the registered and
qualified electors of the county in the manner otherwise provided by
law for the submission of the question of the issuance of other county
bonds, if a majority of the registered and qualified electors of the
county, voting upon the question so submitted, shall approve such issue,
then the Board of County Commissioners shall forthwith issue and
market the bonds authorized as in the case of other county bonds.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 131
Section 14. Koncl limit. — Term — Kate of Interest — Form. In any
county of tin- first, second, third or fourth class the amount of all
bonds requested in1 authorized under the provisions of this chapter shall
not exceed, in any one county in the aggregate as outstanding obliga-
tions and in all other counties, in any one county the sum of Three
Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000.00). Such bonds shall mature in
twenty (20) years or less, and shall hear interest and the general form
of the bonds shall he fixed by the Board id" County Commissioners.
Section 15. County Bond Issue for County and District High
Schools. In any county where a county high school and also one or
more accredited district higb schools are maintained bonds of the county
may likewise he issued in accordance with the provisions of this chap-
ter and for any of the purposes aforesaid, the proceeds of such issue
to he divided among the county high school and accredited district
high school, or schools of the county. The question submitted to the
electors of the county shall definitely state the amount which is to
he allotted to tin' county high school and the amount winch is to
apportioned to or anions the accredited district high school, or schools;
and in all such cases the amount alloted to the county high school and
the amount to be apportioned among the accredited district high school
or schools shall he computed upon the hasis of the average daily at-
tendance in the county high school, and in all the accredited districl
high schools of the county during the year preceding the submission
of the question of the bond issue.
CHAPTER 5
ABOLISHMENT < >F COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS
Section 1!>. Authority to Abolish. Any county in which a county
high school has heen established may abolish such county high school
and dispose of all property belonging thereto in the manner provided
in this chapter.
Section 20. Petition to be Filed. Between the first day of July
and the first day of September in any year in which a general elec-
tion is held in the state of Montana twenty per centum (20%) or
more of the qualified electors of any county maintaining a county high
school who are also assessed in their own names on the assessment
books of the county for that year upon real or personal property may
file their written petition with the county clerk of the county pray-
ing that the county high school he abolished.
Section 21. Commissioners to Submit Question. At the first regu-
lar monthly meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of the
county immediately following such filing the petition shall be called
to the attention of the board by the county clerk: and the board shall
immediately direct the submission to the registered voters of the county
at the ensuing general election for that year of the question whether
the county high school of the county shall be abolished.
132 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Section 22. Publication of Notice. The County Clerk of the county
shall publish a notice of the filing and purpose of the said petition
and thai the question of abolishing the county high school in the
county will lx> submitted :it the ensuing general election, at least once
;i week for four successive weeks in some newspaper of general circu-
lation published in the county, and. if there be none, in such news-
paper as the Board of County Commissioners may designate, the
first publication of such notice to be made between September 1 and
September 16 of the said year.
Sc.t ion 23. Further Notice Required — Manner of Holding Election.
Further notice of the submission of the question shall be given, and
such question shall be submitted to the registered voters of the county
at the ensuing general election in November, and the votes cast thereon
canvassed and returns thereof made, in the manner provided by law
for the election of county officers at that election, subject, however, to
the following social requirements:
The votes for or against the abolishment of the county high school
shall be cast by ballot which shall 1h> in substantially the following
form :
For the abolishment of the county high school.
Against the abolishment of the county high school.
An elector may vote for abolishing the county high school by plac-
ing an "X" in the square immediately before the words "For the
abolishment of the county high school: and a ballot so marked and
casl Shall be counted in favor of abolishing the county high school.
An elector may vote against the, abolishment of the county high school
by placing an "X" in the Bquare immediately preceding the words
"Against the abolishment of the county high school": and a ballot so
marked and casl shall be counted against abolishing the county high
school.
Section 24. Action by Hoard of County Commissioners when Elec-
tion Favors Abolishing High School. If a majority of all the votes
cast at such general election upon the question of the abolishment of
the county high school shall be in favor of abolishing the same the
Board of County Commissioners of the county at its first regular meet-
ing in December following shall make and enter at large upon its
minutes an abstract of the votes BO cast anil a resolution that in ac-
cordance therewith on and after July 1st of the year immediately
following lb.- county high SChOOl of the county shall be, and is thereby,
abolished.
Section 26. Same — When Election Favors Retaining High School.
Bui if a majority of all the votes cast at such election shall be
against the abolishment of the county high school a similar abstract
of the votes shall in like manner be entered by the Board of County
Commissioners at large upon their minutes at its December meeting
aforesaid ; and no further submission of the question of abolishing the
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 133
county high school shall l>e had in that county for at lenst four years
thereafter, provided that if an election against the abolishment of the
county high school has been had within any county within two years
prior to the enactment of this statute, that the question shall not again
he re-submitted for at least four years after the date that this act
becomes effective.
CHAPTER fi
VALIDATION OF CERTAIN ACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
Section 34. School Bonds Validated. All bonds which have been
heretofore issued by the Board of Trustees of any county high school,
or the issuance of which any such board has assumed to authorize,
are hereby ratified and confirmed and declared to be valid and sub-
sisting legal obligations of full force and effect, provided that the
question of the issuance of such bonds was first submitted to the
voters of the county and a majority of all the votes cast by such
voters was in favor of such bond issue as declared by the minutes of
said Board of Trustees, or as otherwise made to appear with certainty.
Section 35. Validation of the Establishment and Location of County
High Schools. All acts and things of any nature whatsoever hereto-
fore done, and all proceedings heretofore had, by any Board of County
Commissioners of any county in the state relative to the submission to
the electors of the county of the question of establishing and locating
a county high school, and to the establishment and location of any
such high school, where such question was in fact submitted to the
voters of the county and a majority of all votes cast by the voters
was in favor of the establishment and location of a county high school
as declared by the minutes of the Board of County Commissioners, or
as otherwise made to appear with certainty, are hereby ratified and
confirmed and declared to be valid and of full force and effect.
Section 36. Validation of Prior Acts. All acts and things of any
kind whatsoever done, or proceedings had, by any Board of Trustees
of any county high school, or by any Board of County Commissioners
of any county, prior hereto and under the provisions of the Acts of
March 3, 1S99, for the establishment of county free high schools, or
under the further Acts of March 14, 1901, amending certain sections of
the Act aforesaid of March 3, 1S99, or under any other Act of the
Legislative Assembly relating to the establishment of county free high
schools or for their maintenance, support or administration are hereby
ratified and confirmed and declared to be valid and of full force and
effect.
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Section 45. Junior High Schools — authority to establish in dis-
trict having no accredited high school. The Board of Trustees of any
school district where no accredited high school is already established
and maintained may establish one or more junior high schools in the
district at any time in accordance with the sections immediately fol-
lowing and provide therefor quarters, buildings, building sites, equip-
ment and a teaching force.
134 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
Section 46. Petition — Resolution of Board — Approval of Superin-
tendent of Public Instruction. Whenever the Board of Trustees of any
Bchool district which has do accredited high school already established,
shall receive ;i petition In writing from twenty per centum (20%), or
more, of the registered voters of th<' district requesting that a junior
high school or junior high schools be established, or shall itself re-
solve by resolution spread upon the minutes of the board that the
establishment of a junior high school or junior high schools is in the
best Interests of the district, an application shall forthwith he made
by the said Board of Trustees to the Superintendent of Public Instruc-
tion, setting forth therein such facts and information as it may require
and requesting its approval of the establishment of the junior high
school or junior high schools in question.
Section 47. Submission of Question. If the establishment of a
junior high school or junior high schools is approved by the Superin-
tendent id' Public Instruction, the Board of Trustees of the school
district shall immediately submit to the registered voters of the dis-
trict the question whether a junior high school, or if the establishment
of more than one such junior high school be contemplated, whether
junior high schools shall be established in such district.
Section 48. Application and Submission of Question when Bonds
are to be Issued. If it is necessary for the district to issue bonds to
provide quarters, buildings, building sites, and/or equipment for the
proposed junior high school or junior high schools the application for
the approval of the Superintendent id' Public Instruction shall set forth
the facts pertinent to such issue and the amount of bonds required for
I he purposes mentioned, or any of them. And in any such case if the
establishment of the junior high school or junior high schools be ap-
proved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction the question sub-
mitted by the Board of Trustees to the registered voters of the district
shall be whether a junior high school, or. if the establishment of more
than one junior high school be contemplated, whether junior high
schools shall be established in the district and bonds in a specified
amount issued t<> provide quarters, buildings, building sites and equip-
ment, or for any one or more such purposes.
Section 49. Election. The qualified electors of the district shall
be entitled to vote upon any question submitted to them in accordance
with this chapter at an election called, noticed, held, canvassed and
returned in the manner provided by law for the submission in such
district of tlw quest] >f a bond issue for the purpose of building,
enlarging, altering or acquiring by purchase a school house, or fur-
nishing and equipping the same, and of purchasing the necessary bonds
therefor.
Section 50. Duty of Board if Establishment of Junior High School
he Approved, it' a majority of the votes cast at any such election be
in favor of the establishment of a junior high school or junior high
schools the Board of Trustees of the district shall immediately estab-
lish ami open the school or schools so authorized.
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 135
Section 51. Issuance of Bonds, [f the Issuance of bonds as speci-
fied in any question submitted be approved the Board of Trustees shall
thereafter issue and market the bonds of the district within the limits
Of the amount specified in the question and in the same manner and
pursuant to the provisions and limitations of law otherwise applicable
in the ease of the issuance of district bonds for the purpose of build-
ing, enlarging, repairing or acquiring by purchase a school house, in
the said district, or furnishing and equipping the same, and of pur-
chasing the necessary lands therefor.
Section 52. Junior High. Schools — How Established Where District
High School is Already Established. The Hoard of Trustees of any
school district wherein an accredited high school is already established
may. by resolution and in compliance with the rules and regulations
of the Superintendent of Public Instruction reorganize the school system
of the district to provide for a junior high school or junior high schools
as a part of such system, without submitting the question to the quali-
fied electors of the district. But nothing herein contained shall be
construed to authorize any such Board of Trustees to issue bonds of
the district or to incur indebtedness or to proceed in the establishment
of a junior high school or junior high schools other than in accordance
with its general powers elsewhere defined.
BUDGET "SYSTEM— SCHOOL DISTRICTS
(Chapter 14<>. Laws of 1931)
Section 7. If. after the Hoard of School Trustees of any district
has adopted the preliminary budget for such district for the ensuing
school year, it appears to such board that the amount which will be
received from a district ten (10) mill tax levy and from all other
sources during such ensuing school year, for the general fund of such
district, as shown by the County Superintendent's estimate of revenues,
will not lie sufficient to meet and take care of the expenditures pro-
posed to be made during the ensuing school year from such general
fund, as contained in such preliminary budget, the board must determine
and make an estimate of the amount of such deficiency and the nurul>er
of mills of additional levy required to be made to meet and take care
of such deficiency, and must call an election, in the manner prescribed
by law. for the purpose of obtaining the approval of the qualified
electors of the district to the making of such additional levy, and such
election must be held before the 1st day of July : provided, however,
that if it appears to the Board of School Trustees of any district at
any meeting thereof held prior to the general school election on the
first Saturday in April, that a levy in excess of ten (10) mills will be
required to maintain the schools in such district during the next en-
suing school year, such Board of Trustees may determine the number
of mills so required in excess of ten (10) mills, and may submit the
question of such additional levy at the next ensuing general school
election.
136 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
SPECIAL ROAD DISTRICTS
Section 1664. The regular election for the electing of members of
Hit- Board of Directors shall be held In such district at the same time
as regular general elections. The secretary of such board shall cause
written or printed notice to be posted at six different and public
places in said special road district, specifying the date and place of
such election and the time during which the ballot-box or boxes shall
be opened, not less than four hours, however, at each election. Said
no! ices shall he posted in at leasl three conspicuous and public places
as aforesaid in such district and whenever a newspaper published within
ten miles of such road district, it shall be the duty of the president and
secretary of said board to cause a notice to be published therein at
least once, ten days previous to said election, giving notice of such
election, and if the said officers of said district fail to give such notice
required by this Act, then any two legal voters in and being freeholders
there, may give such notice over their names and signatures, whereupon
said election may be held at the date fixed by this Act for said election.
Section lGGo. Every elector, a taxpayer, who is legally qualified to
vote at any general election, who is a bona fide resident and taxpayer,
as aforesaid, of the road district for thirty days preceding the day of
election, shall be entitled to vote. Any person offering to vote may be
challenged by any legal and qualified elector of the district, or by
any judge of election, and any judge of such election shall, to deter-
mine the qualification of a voter, administer to the person challenged,
an oath as follows :
"You do swear (or affirm) that you are a citizen of the United
States; that you have resided in this state for the period of one year,
or over, preceding this election; that you are over the age of twenty-
one years; that you have resided in this county thirty days, and that
you are a taxpayer and resided in this road district thirty days next
preceding this election: that you have not voted at this election, so
help you God (or under the pains and penalties of perjury)."
Section 1000. If any person challenged shall refuse lo take said
oath, his vote shall be rejected; and if any person shall be guilty of
noting illegally, he shall be punished as provided in the general elec-
tion laws of this state. The three members of the Board of Directors
of the road district shall act as judges of election, hut should any of
them I'c absent for an.\ cause, at the time of owning of the polls,
the electors present thereat shall appoint a legal voter to fill such
vacancy.
If more than one polling-place be provided in said road district,
i lie directors shall appoint three judges of election who shall perform
the duties required by law.
Section 1007. immediately after the closing of the polls the said
judges shall proceed to count the ballots, and the person or persons
qualified to be elected under this Act. who shall receive the largest
Dumber. of votes, shall be declared elected, and the report of said elec-
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 137
t ici). signed by said judges, shall forthwith be transmitted to the
Count; Clerk and Recorder of the county where such election is held,
to Ik- presented to the Board of County Commissioners for action and
hearing as to the regularity of the election so held, and to be con-
firmed by said County Commissioners. If upon counting the votes there
shall he a tie vote, the two persons baying received such tic vote shall
meet within twenty-four hours before the Board of Directors of such
road district, and one of such persons shall be elected by lot. All
ballots shall be carefully preserved, and after said count shall be placed
in the ballot boxes, ami said ballots shall be preserved by the secretary
of the road district for ninety days, at the end of which time, if there
is no contest, all such ballots shall be destroyed.
PUBLIC BRIDGES— BONDS
Section 1711. Before the construction of any bridge referred to in
the preceding section, the cost of which shall exceed ten thousand
dollars, shall be undertaken, the Board of County Commissioners shall
submit to the qualified electors of a county, at a general or special
election, the question of whether such bridge shall be constructed, and
the cost thereof paid by the county ; and if the electors at such elec-
tion shall vote in favor of the construction of such bridge, the Board of
County Commissioners may, if they deem it necessary and advisable
to do so, issue and sell the bonds of said county to the amount author-
ized for the purpose of constructing such bridge, under such regulations
as other bonds of the county are issued and sold, and with such funds
construct said bridge ; or, if the cost of such bridge shall not exceed
the amount authorized to be raised by a special levy, a special levy
may be made for the purpose of raising the moneys necessary to defray
the cost of constructing such bridge, as provided in the preceding section.
. REMOVAL OF COUNTY SEAT
(Constitutional Provision Art. XVI, Section 2, page 15)
Section 43(59. Whenever the inhabitants of any county of this
state desire to remove the county seat of a county from the place where
it is fixed by law, or otherwise, to another place, they may present a
petition to the Board of County Commissioners of their county praying
such removal, such place to be named in the petition, and that an elec-
tion be held to determine whether or not such removal "must be made.
The petition to remove the county seat of the county from the place
where it is fixed by law to another place must be presented to the
Board of County Commissioners at least sixty days prior to any action
thereon being taken by the Board of County Commissioners, and action
on said petition by the Board of County Commissioners must be had
at a regular meeting of said Board of County Commissioners. Such
petition must be filed with the County Clerk, and the County Clerk,
immediately upon the filing of said petition, must cause to be printed
in every newspaper published within said county a notice to the effect
that a petition praying for the removal of said county seat has been
filed with the County Clerk, and that said petition is open to the inspec-
138 ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA
i if m of any and all persons Interested therein, and thai said petition
will Im- presented t'> the Board of County Commissioners al its next
regular session for action thereon. No other <>r additional petition than
the one originally filed shall be considered by the Board of County Com-
missioners, except tlint at any time <>n or before the date fixed for
the hearing, any person having signed the original petition for the
removal of the county scat may file ;i statement in writing with the
County Clerk that he desires to have his name withdrawn from such
petition: provided, that not more than one withdrawal shall be permitted
by the same person.
Section 4."»7<>. If the petition is signed hy sixty-five per cent of the
taxpayers of such county, the Board of County Commissioners must at
the next general election submit the question of removal to the elec-
tors of the county: provided, that the term '"taxpayer*' used in this
section shall be deemed to mean "ad valorem taxpayers," and that for
the purpose of testing the sufficiency of any petition which may be
presented to the County Commissioners as provided in this section, the
County Commissioners shall compare such petition with the poll-books
in the County Clerk's office constituting the returns of the last general
election held in their county, for the purpose of ascertaining whether
such petition bears the names of sixty-five per cent of tin' taxpaying
voters listed therein: and they shall make a similar comparison of the
names signed to the petition with those appearing upon the listed as-
sessment-roll of the county for the purpose of ascertaining whether the
petition bears the names of sixty-five per cent id' the ad valorem tax-
payers as listed in said assessment-roll: and if such petition then shows
that it has not been signed by sixty-five per cent of the voters of
the county who are ad valorem taxpayers thereof, after deducting from
the said original petition the names of all persons who may have
Signed such original petition, and who may have filed, or caused to
be filed, with the County Clerk of said county or the Board id' County
Commissioners, on or before the date fixed for the bearing, their state-
ment in writing of the withdrawal of their names from the original
petition, it shall be deemed insufficient, and the question of the re-
moval of the county seat shall not be submitted.
Section 1371. .Notice of such election, clearly stating the object,
must be given,* and the election must he held and conducted, and the
returns made, in all respects in the manner prescribed by law in regard
to the submitting of questions to the electors of a Locality under the
genera] election law.
Section (372. In voting on the question, each elector must vote for
the place in the county which he prefers, by placing opposite the name
of the place the mark X.
Section l.",7.''. Winn the returns have been received and compared,
and the results ascertained by the board, if a majority of the quali-
fied electors of the county have voted in favor of any particular place,
the board must give notice of the results by posting notices thereof
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 139
in ;ill the election precincts of the county, and by publishing ;i like
notice in a newspaper primed in the county .-it least once ;i week for
four weeks.
Seci inn 4.* IT t. In the notice provided for in the next preceding sec-
tion, the place selected to l>e the county seat of the county must be SO
declared from a day specified in the notice in >t more than ninety days
after the election. After the day named in the notice, the place chosen
is the county seat of the county.
Section 4.">7.">. Whenever any election has been held, as provided
for in the preceding sections of this chapter, the statement made by the
Hoard of County Commissioners, showing the result thereof, must he de-
posited in the office of the County Clerk, and whenever the hoard gives
the notice prescribed by Section 4.*>74 of this Code, they must transmit
a certified copy thereof to the Secretary of State.
Section 4376. When an election has been held and a majority of
the votes are not cast for some other place than that fixed by law as
the former county seat, no second election for the removal thereof
must 1h' held within four years thereafter.
Section 4377. When the county seat of a county has been once
removed by a popular vote of the people of the county, it may he
again removed from time to time in the manner provided by this
chapter.
LOCATION OF COUNTY SEATS
Section 4378. Whenever a county is created hereafter in this state
by legislative enactment, it shall be the duty of the persons appointed
to the office of County Commissioners of such county by the Act
creating it. to meet at some place in the county, to he agreed upon by
a majority of said County Commissioners, within fifteen days after
the passage of the Act creating the county, and then and there organize
as a Board of County Commissioners by electing one of their number
chairman.
The person appointed to the office of County < 'lerk in the hill cre-
ating the county shall he notified in writing by the County Commis-
sioners, or some one of them, of the time and place of said meeting,
and he must attend the meeting and act as the clerk thereof and keep
a record of the proceedings. If no person is appointed to the office of
County Clerk by the Act creating the county, the Commissioners shall
at such meeting select some person qualified to hold office of County
Clerk to act as clerk of such meeting.
Section 4.'!7!>. Immediately after the organization of the Board of
County Commissioners, as provided in the preceding section, said board
shall, by a resolution spread upon the minutes of its proceedings, desig-
nate some place within said county as and to be the temporary county
seat until the permanent county seat shall lie located as hereinafter
in this Act provided. The place so designated shall be the temporary
140 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
county seal of s.-ii<i county until the permanent county seat is located
i.y the electors of -aid county al the general election to be held on the
first Tuesday after the firs! Monday of November of the next even-
Dumbered year after the creation of the county, or at a special election
as hereinafter provided.
In the event of a majority of the County Commissioners failing
to agree upon the location of the temporary county seat, then each
County Commissioner shall write the name of the place he favors as
the temporary county scat on a slip of paper and said slips be inclosed
in envelopes of the same size, color, and texture, and shall be deposited
In a box or other suitable receptacle, and the County Clerk, in the
presence of said Commissioners, shall draw out one of the said slips.
Thereupon the County Commissioners shall, by resolution spread upon
the minutes, declare the place named on the slip so drawn by the
County clerk to be the temporary county seat of said county.
At said first general election after the creation of the county, it
shall he the duty of the Hoard of County Commissioners and County-
Clerk to have separate official ballots printed and distributed for the
use of the electors at said election: which ballots shall l>e in the form
and contain the same matter as the ballots provided for in Section
43Sr> of this Code, and the provisions of Section 43S6 of this Code shall
apply to and govern the manner of voting and of canvassing said bal-
lots, and the Hoard of County Commissioners shall declare the result
of such election and the 1 nation df the permanent county seat, and
Bald county seat shall be located in the manner and according to the
provisions of said Section 4386.
Provided, however, that at any time within six months after the
passage of an Act creating a new county, a petition or petitions maj
be filed with the County Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners
of such county asking the board to submit the question of the loca-
tion of the permanent county seat to the electors of the county at a
special election to be called and held in the manner hereinafter in this
Ael provided. Said petition or petitions must contain in the aggregate
i he names of at hast one hundred taxpayers, whose names appear upon
the assessment-books containing the last assessment of the property situ-
ated in such new county, and whose names also appear as registered
• lector.- in some registration district established and existing in the terri-
tory embraced in the new county al the last general election held therein.
The petition or petitions when filed with the board must also have
certificates attached thereto from the County Clerk of the county in
which the person or persons signing the petition resided before the
creation of the new county, certifying that the names of the persons
Ding said petition or petitions appear in the last assessment-books
of his county, ami also in the registration-books of his county contain-
ing tin- oames Ol the electors registered in the last general election in
the districts now embraced in the new county.
Ction 1880. Dpon filing said petition or petitions, duly certified
io as provided in the preceding section, with the County Clerk of the
new county, he must immediately notify the chairman of the Board of
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA X41
County Commissioners who. upon receipt of such notice, must call a
meeting of the board to be held within ton days after the tiling of
said petition, for the purpose of considering the same. If the hoard a!
such meeting finds that said petition conforms to the requirements of
and is in accordance with the provisions of the preceding section, it
shall at said meeting, by a resolution spread upon its minutes, call a
special election of the qualified electors of said county for the purpose
of voting upon the question of the location of the permanent county seat.
Said election shall be held on Tuesday and not less than forty nor
more than sixty days after the date of calling the same. The board
must issue an election proclamation containing a statement of the time
of the election and the question to be submitted. A copy of this procla-
mation must be published in some newspaper printed in the county, if
any, and posted at each place of election at least ten days before the
election.
Section 43S1. At the meeting of the board at which the special
election is called for the purpose of locating the permanent county seat,
the board shall, by resolution spread upon its minutes, divide the
county into registration districts and establish polling precincts in the
manner provided by law. It must also, at such meeting, make an order
designating the house or place within each precinct where the election
shall be held. It must also at the same session of the board appoint
registry agents for the several registration districts established by it,
who must possess the qualifications required by law for registry agents.
The County Clerk must furnish the said registry agents with books,
blanks, and other stationery required for the proper performance <^'
their duties.
Section 4382. The period for the registration of electors shall he
between the hours of nine a. m. and nine p. m. on all legal days from
nine a. m. of the fourth Monday prior to the date of said election to
nine p. m. of the second following Saturday. It shall be the duty of
each registry agent to publish and post notices of the time and places
of registration in the manner provided by law for the publication of
notices of registration for general elections. No person shall be entitled
to register and vote at such special election unless he is a qualified
voter of the State of Montana of the age of twenty-one years, and will
have been a resident of Montana one year and of the territory embraced
within the boundaries of the new county for a period of one hundred
and eighty days on the day next preceding the day of such election,
and also takes and subscribes to the oath provided in Section 479,
Revised Codes of Montana.
The general election laws of this state governing the registration
of electors and defining the duties of the registry agents, shall apply
to and govern the registration of electors in elections held under this
Act in so far as the same do not conflict herewith.
Section 4383. At the same meeting of the Board of County Com-
missioners at which the special election for the location of the perma-
142 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
inn! county seat Is called, the board shall appoint three judges of
election for each precincl in the county who shall act as the judges at
said election. It shall be the duty of the County clerk to have printed
and distributed to the judges <d' election the necessary ballots, the
form of which shall he as provided in Sections 1379, 4385 and 4387 ()l
this Code, and also supply the judges with the necessary honks, records,
stationery and ballot-boxes required to hold such election in the manner
provided by law.
Section 1384. The judges appointed for said special election must
qualify as required by the general election law. and the polls musi
he opened ami dosed, the voting done, the ballots counted, returns
made to the Hoard of County Commissioners, and all other matters
connected with said election carried on and conducted in accordance
with and as provided by the general election laws of this state.
Section 4.''>N,">. The form of the ballot used at such elections shall
he as follows: There shall he a stub across the top of each ballot,
and separated therefrom by a perforated line. The part above the per-
forated line, designated as the stub, shall extend the entire width of
the ballot, and shall have a depth of not less than two inches. Upon
the face nt' the stuh there shall he printed in what is known as brevier
capitals the following instructions.
"To vote this ballot the elector will write in thi' blank space on
the ballot the name of the town or place at which he desires the perma-
nent county seat to Ik' located."
The ballot below the perforated line shall he in the following form:
"I'm- the permanent county seat of county, my
choice is ": (here insert nam.' of county i
Provided, that any person who, from any cause, is unable to write, may
have one of the judges in the presence of another judge write his
'hoice "ii the ballot.
Section 1386. When the name of a town or place in a county
-hall l>e so Inserted in the blank space on such ballot by an elector,
and the ballot has been cast as provided hy law. the same shall he
deemed a rote for the designated town or place as the location id' the
permanent county scat of said county. The Board of County Commis-
sioners "f said county shall canvass the returns of said election in
the manner provided by law for the canvassing of election returns.
and upon BUCh canvassing of returns the town or place found to have
received a majority of all votes cast on such questions shall he declared
hy the hoard the perma neiit county seat of the county. The order de-
claring the result of BUCh election shall be entered of record in the
minutes of the proceedings of the Board of County Commissioners by
the County Clerk, and from the date of the declaration of the results
of the election the town or place selected shall he and remain, until
lawfully changed in the manner provided hy law. the permanent county
seat of such county. Within ten days after the declaration of the re-
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 143
suit Of SUCh election, all records and county offices of the county, if
elsewhere located, must be moved to and remain at the place declared
the permanent county seat.
Section 4.'iST. If no town or place receives a majority of all votes
cast on such question, then the town or place receiving the highesl
number of votes shall he declared by the hoard and immediately become
the temporary county seat of the county, and at the next general elec-
tion the two towns or places receiving the greatest number of votes
at said first election shall he the candidates for the permanent county
seat. At said next general election, the County Clerk shall have sep-
arate ballots in the form provided for in Section 4385 of this Code
printed and distributed as provided h\ law containing the names of
said candidates for the permanent county seat. On the stub of such
ballots shall he printed the following instructions:
"To vote this ballot the elector will place an X in the square he-
fore the name of the town he intends to vote for."
The form of such ballots below the perforated line shall he as
follows :
^2 for the permanent county seat.
^] for the permanent county seat.
Of said towns or places the one receiving a majority of all the
votes cast on such question shall be declared the permanent county seat.
and the Board of County Commissioners must canvass the returns and
declare the result, and the county seat must be located in accordance
with the provisions of this Act.
Section 4388. All laws of general nature applicable to the several
counties of the State of Montana and to the officers thereof, and to
their powers and duties, shall he applicable to a new county and the
officers thereof from and after the creation of the county, except as
otherwise provided in this Act. or the Act creating the county.
Section 4389. Any county heretofore created, in which the perma-
nent county seat has not been located by valid election held for the
purpose of locating the permanent county seat of said county, may have
a special election for the purpose of voting on such question, called and
held under the provisions of this Act. or if no special election is held
for such purpose, then said question shall lx> submitted by the County
Commissioners at the next general election after the passage of this
Act and in the manner provided herein for the submission of such
questions at general elections; provided, however, that no special elec-
tion shall he called for the purpose of submitting such question unless
a petition or petitions containing in the aggregate the names of one
hundred taxpaying electors of such county, whose names appear upon
the last assessment book, and also on the last registration-hooks of
said county, are filed with the clerk of the Board of County Commis-
sioners within six months after the passage and approval of this Act.
Upon the filing of such petition or petitions within said time, con-
144 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
taining the requisite Dumber of taxpaying electors, which must tic ascer-
tained by the board from the records of said county, Bald board must
Immediately call such special election as herein provided.
it' registration districts and polling precincts have already been es-
tablished in said county, they shall remain the same Cor such special
election, but a new registration shall be had and said special election
conducted and the result determined as In this Acl provided.
The provisions of this section shall doI apply in any case where
there has been a permanent county scat Located and maintained for ;i
period of three years from the date immediately subsequent to the date
Of the approval of this Act, whether the same was located by legal
election or otherwise.
CREATION OF NEW COUNTIES BY PETITION AND ELECTION
Section 4.".!)0. Creation of New Counties — Debts and Assets Pro-
rated and Minimum Area Fixed. New counties may from time to time
be formed and created in this state from portions of one or more coun-
ties, which shall have been created and in existence for a period of
more than two years, in the manner sel forth and provided in this Act;
provided, however, that no new county shall he established which shall
reduce any county to an assessed valuation of less than Twelve Million
Dollars ($12,000,000.00), inclusive of all assessed valuation as shown
by the last preceding assessment ; nor shall any new county he estab-
lished which shall reduce the area of any existing county from which
territory is taken to form such new county, to less than twelve hundred
square miles of surveyed land, exclusive of all forest reserve ami
Indian reservations within old counties nor shall any new county he
formed which contains an assessed valuation of property less than Ten
Million Dollars ($10,000,000), inclusive of all assessed valuation as
shown by the last preceding assessment, of the county or counties from
which such new county is to he established, nor shall any new county
t>e formed which contains less than one thousand square miles of sur-
ed land exclusive of all forest land or Indian reservations, not open
for settlement, nor shall any line thereof pass within fifteen miles
of the court house siluate at the county seat of the county sought to
be divided; provided, that such county line may he run within a (lis
tance of ten mile-- of a county seat in cases where the natural contour
of the county, by reason of mountain ranges or other topographical
conditions, Is such as to make it difficult to reach the county scat.
ami in such cases a petition, signed by at leas! fifty-eight per centum
(58%) of the voters In the proposed new county, shall he presented to
the .Indue of the Districl Court in which the county affected is located.
asking for the appointmenl of a commission of five (5) disinterested
persons, who shall determine if the topographical conditions are such
as to warrant the fixing of the county division lines closer than ;it
fifteen miles from the county seat, as such lnmndaries are Legally fixed
ami determined at the date of the filing of the petition or petitions
referred to in Section i::«.»:: of the Revised Codes of 1921.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 145
Every county which shall U' enlarged <>r created from the terri-
tory taken from any other county or counties shall be liable for a pro-
rata proportion of the existing debts and Liabilities of the county or.
counties front which such territory shall be taken, and shall be entitled
to a prorata proportion of the assets of the county or counties from
which such territory is taken, to be determined as provided by Sections
4391. 4392 and 4398 of the Revised Codes of Montana, 1921.
As amended by Chapter 100. Laws of 1929.
Section 4391. For the purposes of this Act the assessed valuation
of all property, whether included within the boundaries of a proposed
new county, or remaining within the boundaries of any existing county
or counties from which territory is taken, shall be fixed and deter-
mined on the same basis as is used for the imposition of taxes in the
State of Montana, to-wit : By taking that percentage of the true and
full value of all taxable property in any county specified by Section
'20(H) of this Code.
Whenever in this Act the term "assessed valuation" or "valuation
based on the last assessment roll' is used, said term shall be construed
as meaning taxable valuation determined as herein provided, not the
full and true valuation of property.
Section 4892. No city, town, or village shall become the temporary
or permanent county seat of any county organization under the pro-
visions of Sections 4390 to 4407 of this Code, or created by an Act of
l he legislative Assembly, unless such city or town shall have been
incorporated in the manner provided by law. or unless such village
shall have been regularly platted and a plat thereof filed in the office
of the County Clerk and Recorder, and there be fifty qualified electors
residing within the I>oundaries of such platted village, and the temporary
county seat selected upon the organization of such county shall remain
as such county seat until the permanent county seat shall be established
as provided by law.
Section 4393. Whenever it is desired to divide any county or coun-
ties and form a new county out of a portion of the territory of such
then existing county or counties, a petition shall be presented to the
Board of County Commissioners of the county from which the new
county is to be formed, in case said proposed new county is to be
formed from but one county, or to the Board of County Commissioners
of the county from which the largest area of territory is proposed to
be taken for the formation of such new county, in case said new county
is to be formed from portions of two or more existing counties: and
such Board of County Commissioners shall be empowered and have
jurisdiction to do and perform all acts provided for to be done or
performed in this Act, for each of the several counties from which
any proposed territory is to be taken, and shall direct that a certified
copy of all orders and proceedings had before such Board of County
Commissioners shall be certified by the County Clerk to the Board of
County Commissioners of each of the several counties from which any
146 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
territory is taken by the proposed new county: ;in<l all officers of any
such county siuiil comply with the orders of the Board of County Com-
missioners, in the same manner as if said order had been duly made
by the Hoard of County Commissioners of each respective county from
winch territory is proposed to he taken. Such petition shall he signed
by at least fifty-eight per cent of the qualified electors of the proposed
new county, whose names appear on the official registration books and
who are shown ther 1 to have voted at the last general election pre-
ceding the presentation of said petition to the Board of County Com-
missioners as herein provided; provided, that in cases where the pro-
posed new county is to he formed from portions of two or more coun-
ties, separate petition shall he presented from the territory taken from
each county; and each of said separate petitions shall he signed by a'
least fifty-eight per cent of the qualified electors of each of said
proposed portions. Such signatures need not all he appended to one
paper, hut may he signed to several petitions which must he similar in
form, and when so signed the several petitions may he fastened together
and shall he treated and presented as one petition.
Such petition or petitions shall contain:
1. A particular description of the boundaries of the proposed new
county.
'_'. A statement that no line thereof passes within fifteen miles of
the courthouse situated at the county seat of any county proposed to
lie divided, except as hereinafter in this Act provided.
A statement of the assessed valuation of such proposed county
as shown by the last preceding assessment, inclusive of all assessed
valuation.
4. A statement of the surveyed area in square miles which will
remain in the county or counties from which territory is taken to
form such new county, after such county is formed and a statement
of tlie surveyed area in square miles which will he in the new county
alter formed.
."». The name of the proposed new county.
6. A prayer that such proposed new county he organized into a
new county under the provisions of this Act.
There shall he attached and filed with said petition or petitions
an affidavit of five qualified electors and taxpayers residing within
each county BOUght to Im- divided, to the effect that they have read
said petition and examined the signatures affixed thereto, and they
believe that the statements therein are true, and that it is signed by
at least fifty-eighl per cenl of the qualified electors as herein pro-
vided, of the proposed new county, or id' the proposed portion thereof,
taken from each existing county, where the proposed new county is to
he formed from portions of two or more existing counties; that the
signatures affixed thereto are genuine; and that each of such persons
BO signing was a qualified elector of such county therein sought to he
divided, at the date of such signing. Such petition or petitions BO
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 147
verified, and the verification thereof, shall be accepted in all proceedings
permitted or provided for in this Act, as prima facie evidence1 of Un-
truth of the matters and facts therein set forth. Upon the filing of such
petition or petitions and affidavits with "the Clerk of the said Board
of County Commissioners, said clerk shall forthwith fix a date to
hear the proof of the said petitions and of any opponents thereto, which
date must be not later than thirty days after the filing of such petition
with the clerk of said hoard. The County Clerk shall also, at the same
rime, designate a newspaper of general circulation published in the old
counties, hut not within tin- proposed new county, and also a news-
paper of general circulation published within the boundaries of the pro-
posed new county, if there be such, in which the said County Clerk
shall order and cause to he published, at least once a week for two
weeks next preceding the date fixed for such hearing, a notice in sub-
stantially the following form :
NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that a petition has been presented to the
Hoard of County Commissioners of county
(naming the county represented by the Board of County Commis-
sioners with which said petition was filed I . praying for the formation
of a new county out of a portion of the said... county
and county (naming the county or counties
of which it is proposed to form the new county), and that said petition
will be heard by the said Board of County Commissioners at its place
of meetings (designating the city or town and the day and hour of
the meeting so to be held), and when and where all persons interested
may appear and oppose the granting of said petition, and make any
objections thereto.
Dated at , Montana.
, County Clerk.
Said petitioners shall, on or before the date fixed for said hearing
file with the said Board of County Commissioners a bond to be ap-
proved by said board, in an amount of Five Thousand Dollars, payable
to the county in which said petition is filed, conditioned that the ob-
ligators named in said bond will pay to said county all expenses incurred
in the election provided for in this Act. not exceeding the amount
specified in said bond, in the event that at the election herein pro-
vided for more than forty-two per cent of the votes cast at said
election are ••for the new county of.. (naming the
proposed new county," "No."
At the time so fixed for said hearing, the Board of County Com-
missioners shall proceed to hear the petitioners and any opponents and
protestants upon the petition or protests filed on or before the time
fixed for the hearing. No petition or protest or petition for the exclu-
sion of territory shall be considered unless the same is filed at least
one day before the time fixed for the hearing, and such petition for
the exclusion of territory shall contain the names of not less than
148 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
fifty per cent of the qualified electors who are resident property tax-
payers of any territory to he excluded. All such territory being ex-
cluded must lie in one block, ami contain an area of not less than thirty-
six square miles, and he totally within one county, and contiguous
thereto, and the Board of County Commissioners may adjourn such
hearing from time to time, but not for more than ten days after the
time fixed for the hearing, and shall receive the proof to establish or
controvert the facts set forth in said petition. No withdrawals of sig-
natures to the original petition for the creation of a proposed county
slmll l>e filed or considered which have not lieen filed with the County
clerk on or before the date fixed for the hearing. No withdrawals of
any signature from the petition for the exclusion of territory shall be
received or considered which is not filed within five days after the filing
of the petition for such exclusion of territory.
The Board of County Commissioners, on the final hearing of such
petition or petitions, shall, by a resolution entered on its minutes de-
termine :
1. The boundaries of the proposed new county, and the boundaries
<o determined by said Hoard of County Commissioners shall be the
boundaries of such proposed new county, if it be created as herein
provided.
2. Whether the said petition contains the genuine signatures of
at least fifty-eight per cent of the qualified electors of the proposed
new county as herein required, or in cases where separate petitions
are presented from portions of two or more existing counties as herein
required, whether each petition is signed by at least fifty-eight per
cent of the qualified electors of that portion of each of such existing
counties which it is proposed to take into the proposed new county.
.".. Whether any line of the proposed new county passes within fif-
teen miles of the courthouse situate at the county seat of any county
proposed to be divided, except as hereinbefore provided.
4. Whether the proposed new county will contain property, accord-
ing to the last preceding assessment, which will equal in amount at
least Four .Million Dollars, inclusive of all assessed valuation.
5. Whether the area of any existing county from which territory
i- taken to form such new county will be reduced to less than twelve
hundred square miles of surveyed land, by taking the territory pro-
posed to be taken therefrom to form such new county.
<i. Whether the area of the proposed new county will contain at
least mil' thousand square miles of surveyed land to form such new
county.
7. The class to which said proposed new county after its creation
will belong, and the name of said proposed new county, as stated in
-mil petition.
8. Whether the area embraced within the proposed new county will
i>e reasonably compact.
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 149
On final hearing the Board of Commissioners, upon petition of
not less than fifty per cent of the qualified electors (as shown by tin1
official registration hooks on the day of the filing of any such petition)
Of any territory lying within said proposed new county contiguous to
the boundary line of said proposed new county and of the old county
from which such territory is proposed to he taken, and lying entirely
within a single old county and described in said petition, asking that
said territory be not included within the proposed new county, must
make such changes in the proposed boundaries as will exclude such
territory from such new county, and shall establish and define such
boundaries. On final hearing the Board of Commissioners, upon pe-
tition of not less than fifty per cent of the qualified electors who
are resident property taxpayers of any territory lying outside said
proposed new county, and contiguous to the boundary line of said
proposed new county, and of the old county or counties from which
such territory is proposed to be included, asking that said territory
he included within the proposed new county, must make such changes
in the proposed boundaries as will include such territory in such new
county, and shall establish and define such boundaries: provided, how-
ever, that the segregation of such territory from any old county or coun-
ties shall not leave such county or counties with less than Eight Million
Dollars of assessed valuation, based upon the last assessment roll :
provided, that no change or changes so made shall result in reducing
the valuation of the proposed new county to less than an assessed valu-
ation of Four Million Dollars, inclusive of all assessed valuation; and
provided, further, that no change shall be made which shall leave the
territory so excluded separate and apart from and without the county
of which it was formerly a part. Petitions for exclusion shall l>e dis-
posed of in the order in point of time in which they are filed with
the Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners, and on final deter-
mination of boundaries no changes in the boundaries originally proposed
shall be made except as prayed for in said petition or petitions, or to
correct clerical errors or uncertainties.
Section 4394. If the said Board of County Commissioners deter-
mine that the formation of said proposed new county will not reduce
any county from which any territory is taken to an assessed valuation
of less than Eight Million Dollars, inclusive of the assessed valuation,
nor the area thereof to less than twelve hundred square miles of sur-
veyed land, and that the proposed new county contains property of an
assessed valuation of at least Four Million Dollars, inclusive of all
assessed valuation, and that the proposed new county has an area of
at least one thousand square miles of land, and that no line of said
proposed new county passes within fifteen miles of the courthouse
situate at the county seat of any county proposed to be divided, except
as hereinbefore provided, and that said petition contains the genuine
signatures of at least fifty-eight per cent of the qualified electors of
the proposed new county, or in cases where separate petitions are
presented from portions of two or more existing counties (as herein
required), that each of said petitions contain the genuine signatures of
150 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
:ii least fifty-eight per cenl of the qualified electors of that portion <>f
the proposed new county from which it is taken, then the said Board of
County Commissioners shall divide the proposed new county into a con-
venient Dumber of township, road, and school districts, and define
their boundaries and designate the names of such districts. S;iid Hoard
of County Commissioners shall also, if necessary for the purpose of
the election hereinafter provided for, change the boundaries of the
election precincts in said old county or counties to make the same
conform to the boundaries of the proposed new county: provided, that
the boundary lines of do such precinct shall extend beyond the boun-
dary lines of the then existing county in which it is located, and from
which the territory is proposed to be taken; and said hoard shall ap-
point election officers to act at said election and to he paid by said
hoard. Within two weeks after its determination of the truth of the
allegations of said petition as aforesaid, the said Hoard of County Com-
missioners shall order and give proclamation and notice of an election
to he held on a specified day in the territory which is proposed to be
taken for the new county, not less than ninety days nor more than one
hundred and twenty days thereafter, for the purpose of determining
whether such territory shall be established and organized into a new
county; and for the election of officers and location of a county seal
therefor, in case the vote at such election shall be in favor of the
establishment and organization of such new county. All qualified elec-
tors residing within the proposed new county who are qualified electors
Of the county or counties from which territory is taken to form such
proposed new county, and who have resided within the limits of the
proposed county for a period of more than six months next preceding
the day of election, and who are registered under the provisions of the
registration laws of the State, shall be entitled to vote at said elec-
tion. Registration and transfers id' registration shall be made and shall
close in the manner anil at a time provided by law for registration
and transfers of registration for a general election in the Slate of
.Montana. Such proclamation and notice of election shall be published
at least once a week for three weeks before the holding of such elec-
tion, in some newspaper of general circulation published in the territory
which is proposed to be taken for the new county, and a copy thereof
-hall be mailed immediately by the County Clerk Of the county in which
the petition is filed to the County Clerk of each county from which
territory is taken for the proposed new county. Such proclamation and
notice shall require the voters to cast ballots which shall contain the
words. "Pot the new county of (giving the name of the
proposed new county i" "Yes." and "For the new county of
(giving the name of the proposed new county)" "No." and each voter
desiring t" vote for the establishment and organization of said new
County shall mark a cross 1X1 opposite the words, "For the new
county of ." "Yes." in the manner now required by
law in other elections, ami each voter desiring to vote against the
establishment and organization of said new county shall mark a cross
i X i opp08lte the words. "For the new county of ,'' ".\o."
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 151
in the manner now required by law in other elections; and shall also
contain the names of persons to be voted for to fill the various elective
offices designated in said proclamation for counties of the class to
which said proposed county will belong, as determined by the Board
Of County Commissioners as herein otherwise provided. There shall
also he printed upon said ballot the words. "For the county seat," and
the names of all cities or towns which may have filed with the
County Clerk a petition signed by at least twenty-five qualified elec-
tors, nominating any city or town within the proposed new county for
the county seat, and the voter shall designate his choice for county seat
by marking a cross (X) opposite the name of the city or town for
which he desires to cast his ballot. At the special election to be held,
as provided in this Act. the question of the election of the county seat
is hereby provided to be submitted to the qualified electors of the pro-
posed new county, and the majority of all the votes cast therefor shall
determine the election thereon. In case any city or town fails to re-
ceive a majority of all the votes cast, then the city or town receiving
the highest number of all votes cast shall be designated as the tem-
porary county seat, and in case any city or town is not the choice of
the election for the county seat by a majority of all the votes cast, the
question of choice between the two cities or towns for which the highest
number of votes shall have been cast shall be submitted in like manner
to the qualified electors at the next general election thereafter. When
the county seat shall have been selected as herein provided, it shall
not thereafter be changed except in the manner provided by law.
The proclamation calling the election and the notice thereof pro-
vided for in this Act shall be made and given exclusively by the Board
of County Commissioners with which is filed the said petition for the
formation and establishment of such new county, and such board shall
cause the clerk of said county to furnish to the officers of each pre-
cinct in such proposed new county all ballots, poll lists, tally lists,
registers for voters' signatures, ballot boxes, and other election sup-
plies and equipment necessary to conduct such election, and which are
not hereinafter specifically directed to be furnished by the clerk of
another county or counties. Such election shall be governed and con-
trolled by the general election laws of the State, so far as the same
shall be applicable, except as herein otherwise provided. The returns
of all elections for the creation of the county, and for officers and for
location of the county seat as provided for iu this Act, shall be made
to and canvassed by the Board of County Commissioners of the county
from which the largest area is taken by the proposed county.
The County Clerk of each county from which territory is taken
for the proposed new county shall, not less than five days before the
date of such election, furnish to each board of election within said
proposed new county, a copy of the official register for the precincts
of such proposed new county as are within their respective counties,
and the copies of indexes thereof required by law containing the names
of all persons who were qualified electors at the last general election
before the date of such election.
152 ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA
All returns of election herein provided for shall h<> marie to the
Board of County Commissioners calling such election.
All Dominations of candidates for the office required to be filled
at said election shall be made La the manner provided by law for the
nomination of candidates by petition.
The provisions of the election laws relating to preparation, print-
ing, and distribution Of sample ballots, except the provisions of said
laws relating to primary elections in this state, shall havi application
to any election provided Cor in this Act.
Sect inn 4395. If, upon the canvass of the votes cast at such elec-
tion, it appears that fi'fty-eigbl per cent of the votes cast are "For the
new county of " "Yes." the Board of County Com-
missioners shall, by a resolution entered upon its minutes, declare such
territory duly formed and created as a county of this State, of the
class to which the same shall belong, under the name id'
county, and that the city or town receiving the highest number of
votes cast at said election for county seat shall he the county seat of
said county until removed in the manner provided by law, and desig-
nating and declaring the person receiving respectively the highest num-
ber of votes for the several offices to he filled at said election, to he
duly elected to such offices. Said hoard shall forthwith cause a copy
of its said resolution, duly certified, to he filed in the office of the
Secretary of State, and ninety days from and after the date of such
filing said new county shall he deemed to he fully created, and the
organization thereof shall he deemed completed, and such officers shall
he entitled to enter immediately upon tin1 duties of their respective of-
fices upon qualifying in accordance with law and giving bonds for the
faithful performance of their duties, as required by the laws of the
state. Tlie < 'lerk of the Hoard of County Commissioners with which
said petition was filed, as herein provided, must immediately make out
and deliver to each of said persons so declared and designated to be
elected, a certificate of election authenticated by his signature and the
seal of said county. The persons elected members of the Board of
County Commissioners and the County Clerk shall immediately, upon
receiving their certificates of election, assume the duties of their re-
spective offices.
The Board of County Commissioners shall have authority to pro-
vide a Editable place for the county officers, ami to purchase such sup-
plies as may hi' deemed necessary for the proper conduct of the county
government. All other officers take office ninety days after the filing
of the resolution herein provided for with the Secretary of State. All
the officers elected at said election, or appointed under this Act. shall
hold their office until the time provided by general law for the elec-
tion and qualification of such officers in this State, and until their
successors are elected and qualified, and for the purpose of determin-
ing the term of office "f such officers, the years said officers are to
hold office are to be computed respectively from and including the
first Edondaj after the first day of January following the last pre-
ceding general election, if. however, upon such canvass it appears that
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 153
more than forty-two per cenl of the votes casl ;it said election are
"For the new county of .. ," "No," the Board of
County Commissioners canvassing said vote as provided herein shall
pass a resolution in accordance therewith, and thereupon the proceed-
ings relating to division of such county or counties shall cease; and
no other proceedings in relation to any other division of said old
county or counties shall he instituted for at least two years after
such determination.
Section 4.'{!)ti. At the election provided for in Section 4.'!!>4 of this
Code, there shall he chosen such county, township, and district officers
as are now or may hereafter by general law he provided for in coun-
ties of the class to which said new county is determined to belong,
as herein provided; provided, that all duly elected, qualified and act-
ing officers of the county or counties, who may reside within the ppro-
posed new county, shall he deemed to be officers of said new county
if they file with the Board of County Commissioners, whose duty it
shall be to call the election, within five days after the final hearing
and determination of said petition for such proposed new county, their
intention to become officers of said proposed new county and the Board
of County Commissioners issuing the proclamation of any election, as
in this Act provided, shall omit providing for the election of any such
officers as may have filed their declaration as herein provided: pro-
vided, also, that all duly elected, qualified, and acting Justices of the
Peace and Constables residing within the proposed new county at the
time of the division of such county into townships, as hereinbefore in
Section 4394 provided, shall hold office as such Justices of the Peace
in- Constables in said county for the remainder of the term for which
they were elected on qualifying as Justices of the Peace or Constables
for the respective townships in which they reside, when said town-
ships are organized as provided in this Act : provided, further, that all
duly elected, qualified, and acting School Trustees residing within the
proposed new county at the time of the division of such county into
school districts, as hereinbefore in Section 4.'»H4 provided, shall hold
office as School Trustees in said new county for the remainder of
the term for which they were elected on qualifying as School Trustees
for the respective districts in which they reside, as said districts are
organized as provided by this Act. Each person elected or appointed
to fill an office of such new county under the provisions of this Act
shall qualify in the manner provided by law for such officers, except
as herein otherwise provided, and shall enter upon the discharge of
the duties of his office within such time as herein provided, after the
receipt of the certificate of his election. Each of such officers may
take the oath of office before any officers authorized by the laws of
the State of Montana to administer oaths, and the bond of any officer
from which a bond is required shall be approved by any Judge of the
District Court of the district to which such new county is attached
for judicial purposes. The officers elected or appointed under the pro-
visions of this Act shall each perform the duties and receive the
compensation now provided by general law for the office to which
154 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
be has been appointed or elected by in the counties of the class to
which such new county shall bave been determined to belong, as herein
provided under the general classification of counties in this state.
Said new county, when created and organized in pursuance Of
the provisions Of this Act, shall be attached to such judicial district
as may be designated by the Governor of the State of Montana, in a
proclamation to be issued by him, designating such new county as
attached to the particular judicial district for judicial purposes.
Section 4.'i!t7. It shall be the duty of the persons elected to or
continuing to hold the office of County Commissioners of said new
county to meet at the county seat thereof within five days after all
of them shall have qualified, and upon organization of said Hoard of
County Commissioners it shall notify the Governor of the state of
the organization of said county, and thereupon it shall he the duty of
the Governor to appoint three persons, one of whom shall he a resi-
dent and a taxpayer within the new county, and no two of whom
shall he from any one county: the three persons so appointed shall
form and he a Board of Commissioners. Such Commissioners shall,
within ten days after the notice of the appointment, meet at the county
seal of the new county and organize by electing from their number a
chairman, and also elect, a secretary who must not he a member of
siiid Commission. Thereafter such Commission may meet at such place
or places as it may select. A majority of such Commissioners shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Said Commission
shall have power to compel by citation or subpoena, signed by their
president and secretary, the attendance of such persons and the pro-
duction of such hooks and papers before said Commission as may be
required in the performance of the duties imposed by this Act. except
that the official records of any county or counties from which said
new county was formed shall in no case be taken away from the county
seat of said county. It shall he the duty of the sheriff of any county
to execute in his county all lawful orders and citations of the said
Commission; and for any services so performed the Sheriff shall he
allowed the same U^cs as are allowed to him for services in civil ac-
tions; and all witnesses attending before said Commission shall be
entitled to the same compensation and mileage as is allowed to wit-
nesses in courts of record; provided, thai no witness shall he excused
from attendance at the time and place mentioned in said order or
citation by reason of the failure of the officer making such service
to tender to such witness his fees and mileage in advance.
Section 1398. Said Board of Commissioners shall immediately after
its organization ascertain the costs of the election held hereunder, and
apportion the same pro rata among each of the counties from which
territory was taken to form such new county *********
Section 4404. Win-never in this Act publication of any notice is
provided for, ami no newspaper of general circulation is puhlished
within the territory in which said notice is required to l>e published,
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 155
notice shall be given by posting copies of such notices in al Least ten
public places in such territories for the same length of time said notice
was required to 1h> published.
Section 4405. The territory within the limits of any new county,
until otherwise provided by law. shall he entitled to representation in
the State Senate by one State Senator; and to representation in the
House of Representatives by one member of the House of Representa-
tives.
Section -44oc>. Any member of the Board of County Commissioners,
or any other officer who unlawfully and knowingly violates any of
the provisions of this Act. or fails or refuses to perform any duty
imposed upon him hereunder, shall he guilty of a misdemeanor and
of malfeasance in office, and shall he deprived of his office by a
decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, after trial and conviction.
Section 4407. All Acts and parts of Acts in conflict herewith are
hereby repealed, with the exception: This Act shall not apply in any
cases whereby the election has been held under the Act passed by the
Fifteenth Legislative Session for the creation of counties and a ma-
jority vote has been cast in favor thereof, but the provisions of this
Act shall be deemed in full force and effect so far as they may affect
any proposed new county now in process of creation, unless said new
county can comply with the requirements of this Act ; and it is hereby
made the duty of the Board of County Commissioners which may have
ordered any election in pursuance of existing laws to immediately make
an order annulling and setting aside all further proceedings in rela-
tion to such proposed new county, including an order to nullify and
set aside any election order theretofore made ; provided, if any order
is made nullifying and setting aside any election as provided in this
section, any bond which may have been given in pursuance with the
provisions of law relating to the costs of election for the creation of
any proposed new county shall be deemed void, and no liability shall
be incurred thereunder.
DUTIES OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS RELATIVE TO
ELECTIONS
Section 4465. The Board of County Commissioners has jurisdic-
tion and power under such limitations and restrictions as are pre-
scribed by law:
."!. To establish, abolish, and change election precincts, and to ap-
point judges of election, canvass all election returns, declare the result,
and issue certificates .thereof.
Section 4515. The Board id' County Commissioners must provide
all poll-lists, poll-books, blank returns and certificate's, proclamations
of elections, and other appropriate and necessary appliances for hold-
ing all elections in the county, and allow reasonable charges therefor.
and for the transmission and return of the same to the proper officers.
156 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
Section 4516. Whenever, ;is canvassers, the Board or" County Com-
missioners declares the result of any election held in the county, cer-
tificates must be i>y the clerk of the board issued to all persons elected
to a county office or to a township or district office therein, and sucli
other certificates must he made out and transmitted as required by
the title relative to Elections.
BOM) ISSUE AND TAX LEVY FOR BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION
Section 471."!. The Board of County Commissioners may, in their
discretion, for the purpose of constructing roads and bridges, make an
increased levy upon the taxable property of the county of ten mills
or less; provided, that such proportion of the funds derived under
the provisions of this Act as are expended on State and main high-
ways shall he expended under plans approved by the State Highway
( 'ominission.
Section 4714. Before such increased levy shall he made, the ques-
tion shall he submitted to a vote of the people at some general or
special election, and shall he submitted in the following form, inserting
the number of mills proposed to he levied:
"Shall there lie an increased levy of mills upon the taxable
property of the County of State of Montana, for
the purpose of constructing roads and bridges?
□ Yes.
□ No."
Section 471."). A majority of the votes cast shall Ik- necessary to
adopt such measure.
Section 471H. Such levy shall be collected in the same manner as
other road taxes an' collected.
CHAPTER 188— LAWS 1931
Section 7. PETITION AXI) ELECTION REQUIRED FOB BONDS
ISSUED FoK OTHER PURPOSES. County bonds for any other pur-
pose than those enumerated in Section <i of this Act shall not he issued
unless authorized at a dnly called special or general election at which
the question of issuing such bonds was submitted to the qualified elec-
tors of the county and approved as provided in Section L3 of this Act ;
and no such bond election shall U' called unless there has been pre-
sented to the Board of County Commissioners a petition, asking that
such election be held and such question be submitted, signed by not
less than twenty per centum (20%) of the qualified electors of the
county, who are taxpayers upon property within tin- county and whose
names appeal on the last completed assessment roll for state and
county taxes.
Section s. FORM, CONTEXTS AND PROOF OF PETITION. Every
petition for the calling of an election to vote upon the question of
Issuing county bonds shall plainly anil clearly state the purpose or
purposes for which the proposed bonds are to be issued, and shall
• ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 157
contain an estimate of the amount necessary to be issued for such pur-
pose or purposes. There may Ik> a separate petition for eacli purpose.
or two (2) or more purposes may Ik- combined in one (1) petition if
each purpose, with an estimate of the amount of bonds necessary to
l»e issued therefor, is separately stated in such petition. Such petition
may consist of one (1) sheet, or of several sheets identical in form
and fastened together after being circulated and signed so as to form
n single complete petition before being delivered to the County Clerk
as hereinafter provided. The petition shall give the postoffice address
ami voting precinct of each person signing the same.
Only persons who are qualified to sign such petition shall he quali-
fied to circulate the same, and there shall he attached to the completed
petition the affidavit of some person who circulated, or assisted in
circulating such petition, that he believes the signatures thereon are
genuine and that the signers knew the contents thereof before signing
the same. The completed petition shall be filed with the County Clerk
who shall, within fifteen (15) days thereafter, carefully examine the
same and the county records showing the qualifications of the petitioners,
and attach thereto a certificate under his official signature and the seal
of his office, which certificate shall set forth :
(1) The total number of persons who are registered electors and
whose names appear upon the last completed assessment roll for state
and county taxes.
(2 1 Which and how many of the persons whose names are sub
scribed to such petition are possessed of all of tin- qualifications re-
quired of signers to such petition.
(3) Whether such qualified signers constitute more or less than
twenty per centum (20%) of the registered electors whose names appear
upon the last completed assessment roll for state and county taxes.
Section 9. CONSIDERATION OF PETITION— CALLING ELEC-
TION. When such petition has been filed with the County Clerk and
he has found that it has a sufficient number of signers, qualified to
sign the same, he shall place the same before the Board of County
Commissioners at its first meeting held after he has attached his cer-
tificate thereto. The hoard shall thereupon carefully examine the pe-
tition and make such other investigation as it may deem necessary.
If it is found that the petition is in proper form, hears the requi-
site number of signers of qualified petitioners, and is in all other
respects sufficient, the hoard shall pass and adopt a resolution which
shall recite the essential facts in regard to the petition and its filing
and presentation, the purpose, or purposes, for which tin- bonds are
proposed to be issued, and fix the exact amount of bonds proposed to
be issued for each purpose, which amount may he less than hut must
not exceed the amount set forth in the petition, determine the number
of years through which such bonds are to be paid, not exceeding the
limitations fixed in Section 4 hereof, and making provision for having
such question submitted to the qualified electors of the county at the
next general election, or at a special election which the board may
call for such purpose.
158 ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA
Section 10. NOTICE OF ELECTION— ELECTION HOURS— ELEC-
TION OFFICERS. Wnether such election is held at the general elec-
tion, or at a special election, separate notice shall be given thereof.
Such mil ice shall state the date when such election will he held, the
hours between which the polls will he open, the amount of bonds pro-
posed to he issued, the purpose of the issue, the term of years through
which the bonds are to he paid, and such other information regarding
the holding of the election and the bonds proposed to he issued as
'he board may deem proper. If bonds are to he issued for two
I 2 1 or more purposes, each purpose and the amount therefor must be
separately stated. Such notice shall be posted in each voting precinct
throughout the county in the same manner as notices for a general
election are required to he posted. Such notice must also he published
once each week for four (.4) consecutive weeks preceding the election
in the official newspaper of the county.
If the question of issuing bonds is submitted at a special elec-
tion called for such purpose the Board of County Commissioners shall
fix the hours through which the polls are to he kept open, which shall
he not less than eight (8), and which must he stated in the notice
of election, and may appoint a smaller number of election judges than
is required for a general election, hut in no case shall there he less
than three (3) judges in the precinct, and such judges shall act as
their own clerks.
If the question of issuing bonds is submitted at a general election,
I he polls shall he kepi open during the same hours as arc fixed for
SUCb general election and the judges and clerks for such general elec-
tion shall act as the judges and clerks for such bond election.
Section 11. FORM OK BALLOTS AND CONDUCT OF ELEC-
TION. The form of ballots shall he as prescribed by Section 472'2 of
the Revised Codes of .Montana of 1923 ; hut if bonds are sought to
be issued for two (2) or more separate purposes, then separate bal-
lots must he provided for each purpose. The election shall hi' con-
ducted in the manner prescribed by said Section 4722 of the 1921
Codes, and the general election laws of the State shall govern insofar
as they are applicable; hut if such question he submitted at a general
election (he votes t hereon must he counted separately and separate
returns must he made by the judges and clerks at such election.
Section 1-'. who ARE ENTITLED To vote. All qualified elec-
tors of the county, whose names appear upon the registration list of
the county and upon the poll hooks of the precinct in which thej
seek to vote, shall he qualified to vote at all county bonding elections,
and no property assessment or taxpaying qualification shall he re-
quired.
Section 13. PERCENTAGE OF ELECTORS REQUIRED To AIT-
THORIZE BOND ISSUE. Whenever the question of issuing county
bonds for any purpose is submitted to the qualified electors of a
county, at either a general or special election, not less than forty per
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 159
centum (40$ > of the qualified electors entitled to vote on such ques-
tion must vote thereon, otherwise such proposition shall be deemed
to have been rejected; provided, however, thai it" forty per centum
(40%) <>r more of such qualified electors do vote on such question, at
such election, and a majority of such votes Shall be cast in favor of
such proposition, then such proposition shall be deemed to have been
approved and adopted.
Section 14. CANVASS OF ELECTION RETURNS— RESOLUTION
FOR BOND ISSUE, if the bonding election be hold at the same time
as a general election, then the returns shall be canvassed at the same
time as the returns from such general election; but if the bonding
election is a special election, then the Board of County Commissioners
shall meet within ten (10) days after the date of holding such special
election and canvass the returns, if it is found that at such election
forty per centum (40%) or more, of the qualified electors entitled to
vote at such election voted on such question, and that a majority of
such votes were cast in favor of the issuing of such bonds, the Board
of County Commissioners shall, at a regular or special meeting held
within thirty (30) days thereafter, pass and adopt a resolution pro-
viding for the issuance of such bonds. Such resolution shall recite
the purpose for which such bonds are to he issued, the amount thereof,
the maximum rate of interest the bonds may l>ear, the date they shall
bear, the period of time through which they shall he payable, the op-
tional provisions, if any: and provide for the manner of the execution
of the same. It shall provide that preference shall he given amorti-
zation bo'nds but shall fix the denomination of serial bonds in case it
shall be found advantageous to issue bonds in that form, and shall
adopt a form of notice of the sale of the bonds.
The board may. in its discretion, provide that such bonds may be
issued and sold in two or more series or installments.
FLOATING INDEBTEDNESS OF COUNTIES— FUNDING OF THE
SAME
(Chapter 159, Laws of 1931)
Section 1. * * * (a) * * * Funding the same by issuing funding
bonds and selling such bonds in the manner provided by law; provided,
however, that such bonds may l>e issued and sold without the Board
of County Commissioners being required to submit the question of
issuing such bonds at an election. * * *.
QUESTION OF RAISING MONEY TO BE SUBMITTED TO A VOTE
(Constitutional Provisions. Art. XIII, Sec. .">, page 14 1
Section 4717. The Board of County Commissioners must not borrow
money for any of the purposes mentioned in this title, or for any
single purpose to an amount exceeding Ten Thousand Dollars without
the approval of a majority of the electors of the county, and without
first having submitted the question of a loan to a vote of such elec-
160 ELECTION LAWS OE MONTANA
tors; provided, that it sluill not be necessary to submit to the electors
the question of borrowing money to refund outstanding bonds, or for
the purpose of enabling any county to liquidate its indebtedness to
another county incident to the creation of a new county or the change
of any county boundary lines.
Section 4718. Whenever it is necessary to submit to a vote of the
electors of the county the question of making a loan, the board must
first determine the amount necessary to lie raised.
Section 4719. Notice of the election, clearly stating the amount to
be raised and the object of the loan, must be given, and the election
held and conducted, and the returns made in all respects in the manner
prescribed by law in regard to the submission of questions to the elec-
tors of a locality under the general election law.
Section 4720. There must be written or printed on the ballots the
words "For the loan" and "Against the loan," and in voting the elec-
tor must vote for the proposition he prefers by making an X opposite
the proposition.
Section 4721. If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of the
loan, then the board may make the loan, issuing bonds, or otherwise,
as may seem liest for the interests of the county.
Section 4722. Hereafter, whenever, in due course of law. in the
manner and form required by law and according to the provisions and
requirements id" law. any question or proposition of or relating to
bonded indebtedness, or of issuing bonds or of refunding, increasing.
or creating a bonded indebtedness is submitted, ordered submitted or
to be submitted, to the electors of any county, at a general or other
election, when, at the same time candidates for national, state, or
county office or offices are to be voted upon or for by the qualified
electors of such county, such question or proposition relating to bonds
or bonded indebtedness shall not lie placed or printed upon the official
ballots furnished electors at such election for the purpose of voting
for candidates for any office or offices, and containing the names of
candidates tor office or offices to be voted for at such election, but
the County Commissioners shall authorize, and the County clerk shall
have printed and furnished to election judges and officials in each
voting precinct of such county, separate ballots therefor, equal in
number to the official ballots so furnished, and containing the names
Of such candidates for office. Said separate ballots shall be white in
color and of convenient size, being only Large enough to contain the
printing herein required to be done and placed thereon, and shall have
printed tbereon in Fair-sized legible type and black ink. in one line
or more, as required, the winds "For" said bonding proposition (stating
it and the terms thereof explicitly and at length), and thereunder the
words "Against" said bonding proposition (stating it and the terms
thereof explicitely and at length in like manner as above! ; and there
shall l>e before the word "For" and before the word "Against," each.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 161
;i square space Of BUfficlent size to place m plain cross or X therein,
and sucb arrangemenl shall be in this manner:
For (statins propositions.)
Against (stating propositions.!
Such separate ballots shall be kept, stamped, gives out. received,
counted, returned, and disposed of by election judges in like manner as
other official ballots herein referred to. Eaeb qualified elector offering
to vote and permitted to vote shall, at the time he is offered by the
election judges an official ballot bearing the names of candidates for
office, be handed one of the separate ballots above described, and he
may then and there, in a booth as provided by law and not otherwise,
vote on such separate ballot for or against said proposition by placing
a cross or X before the word ''For*' or the word "Against." in the
vacant square provided therefor; and such separate ballot shall be re-
turned to the election judges by the voter, with said other official ballot
if the voter chooses to vote for candidates for office and is entitled to
do so. The election judges shall deposit said separate ballot on the
bonding proposition, separate from the voter's other official ballot, in
the ballot box.
GOVERNMENT OF COUNTIES
(Constitutional Provisions, Art. XVI. Sec. 4-<>. See page 15)
Section 471'.".. No person is eligible to a county office who at the
time of his election is not of the age of twenty-one years, a citizen of
the state, and an elector of the county in which the duties of the office
are to be exercised, or for which he is elected.
Section 47124. No person is eligible to a district or township office
who is not of the age of twenty-one years, a citizen of the state and
an elector of the district or township in which the duties of the office
are to be exercised, or for which he is elected.
Section 4725. The officers of a county are:
A Treasurer :
A County Clerk:
A Clerk of the District Court:
A Sheriff:
A County Auditor, except in the sixth, seventh, and eighth class
counties ;
A County Attorney :
A Surveyor :
A Coroner ;
A Public Administrator ;
An Assessor ;
A County Superintendent of Common Schools:
A Board of County Commissioners.
Section 4726. The officers of townships are two Justices of the
Peace, two Constables, and such other inferior and subordinate officers
as are provided for elsewhere in this Code, or by the Board of County
Commissioners.
162 ELECTION LAWS OE MONTANA
Section 4728. All elective county and township officers, except
County Commissioners, must be elected at the general election to be
held in the year 1894, and at the general election to he held every
second year thereafter, and must take office on the first Monday of
January next succeeding their election, except County Treasurer, whose
term begins on the first Monday of March next succeeding his election,
and hold office for two years.
Section 472!». The election and terms of office of County Com-
missioners are provided for in the constitution.
Section 4730. The election and terms of office of District Judges
and Justices of the Peace are provided for in the Code of Civil Pro-
cedure.
MANAGERIAL FORM OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT
(Chapter 100— Laws of 1931 as amended)
An Act Providing for the Adoption of the Managerial Form of
County Government.
Section 1. Any county in the state is hereby authorized to adopt
a county manager form of government as herein defined, and in ac-
cordance with the procedure herein specified.
Section 2. METHOD OF ADOPTION, (a) Upon a petition filed
with the Hoard of County Commissioners signed by not less than 20
per cent of the whole number of voters who voted at the last general
election asking that :i referendum be held on the question of adopting
the county manager form of government, it shall be the duty of the
Board of County Commissioners to submit the question at the next
regular election or call a special election for the purpose. If a special
election is called it shall be held not more than ninety days nor less
than sixty days from the filing of the petition, but not within thirty
days Of any general election. The question submitted shall be worded:
Shall the county manager form of government be adopted in
County?"
(b) It shall Ik1 the duty of the Board of County Commissioners
to publish a notice of the referendum in a daily paper twice a week
for a period Of three consecutive weeks, or in case there is no daily
paper Of wide circulation in the county, then in a weekly paper for
four consecutive weeks.
(C) [f a majority of the votes cast on the question at the election
^hall be in favor of the county manager form of government it. shall
go into effeel at a date designated in the petition or resolution. Pro-
vided : That no elected official then in office, whose position will no
longer be filled by popular election, shall be retired prior to the expira-
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 163
tion of his term of office, but thai from and after (ho establishment
of such form of government, his duties shall be such duties as are
assigned to him by the County Manager."
Approved March 7, 1933.
CLASSIFICATION AND ORGANIZATION OF CITIES AND TOWNS
Section 4961. Whenever the inhabitants of any part of a county
desire to be organized into a city or town, they may apply by petition
in writing, signed by not less than fifty qualified electors, residents of
the state, and residing within the limits of the proposed incorporation,
to the Board of County Commissioners of the county in which the ter-
ritory is situated, which petition must describe the limits of the pro-
posed city or town, and of the several wards thereof, which must not
exceed one square mile for each five hundred inhabitants resident
therein. The petitioners must annex to the petition a map of the
proposed territory to be incorporated, and state the name of the city
or town. The petition and map must be filed in the office of the
County Clerk. Upon filing the petition, the Board of County Commis-
sioners, at its next regular or special meeting, must appoint some suit-
able person to take a census of the residents of the territory to be
incorporated. After taking the census, the person appointed to take the
same must return the list to the Board of County Commissioners, and
the same must be filed by it in the County Clerk's office. No municipal
corporation must be formed unless the number of inhabitants is three
hundred or upwards.
Section -tiKii'. After filing the petition and census, if there be the
requisite number of inhabitants for the formation of a municipal cor-
poration, as required in the preceding section, the County Commis-
sioners must call an election of all the qualified electors residing in
the territory, described in the petition. Said election must be held at
a convenient place within the territory described in the petition, to be
designated by the hoard, notice of which election must be given by pub-
lication in some newspaper published within the limits of the territory
to be incorporated, or, if none be published therein, by posting notice
in three public places within said limits. The notice must be published
thirty days prior to the election, and must specify the time and place
when and where the same is held, and contain a description of the
boundaries of the city or town. The board must appoint judges and
clerks of election, who must qualify as required by law. and after the
election they must report the result to the board, together with the
ballots cast at said election. The ballots used at the election must be
For incorporation" or "Against incorporation." and all elections must
he conducted as provided in Sections 531 to S2S of this Code.
Section 4963. When the incorporation of a city or town is com-
pleted the Board of County Commissioners must give notice for thirty
days in a newspaper published within the limits of the city or town,
164 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
or if none be published therein, by posting notices in six public places
within the limits of the corporation, of the time and place or places
of holding the first election for offices of the corporation. At such elec-
tion all the electors qualified by the general election laws of the state.
: t ii< 1 who have resided within the limits of the city or town for six
months, and within the limits of the ward for thirty days preceding
the election, are qualified electors and may choose officers for the
city or town, to hold office as prescribed in the next succeeding section.
Section 41J64. At such election there must he elected, in a city
of the first class, a Mayor, a Police Judge, a City Attorney, a City
Treasurer, a City Marshall, and two Aldermen from each ward into
which the city may he divided ; in a city of the second class, a Mayor,
a Police Judge, a City Treasurer, a City Marshal, and two Aldermen
from each ward ; in a town, a Mayor, and two Aldermen from each
ward, who hold office until the first Monday of May after the first
annual election, and until their successors are elected and qualified.
The persons so elected must qualify in the manner prescribed by law
for county officers. The Hoard of County Commissioners must appoint
judges and clerks of election, and canvass and declare the result thereof.
The election must be conducted in the manner required by law for the
election of county officers.
Section 4!tb"7. All officers of such city or town holding office at
the time of the adoption of this Code remain in office until the next
annual election and the first Monday of May next ensuing thereafter,
and until their successors are elected and qualified. The duties and
compensation of such officers and the liabilities of sureties on official
bonds remain the same. All elections must be held under the provi-
sions of this Code relative to the government of cities and towns.
Section 45)71. The first election of officers of the new municipal
corporation organized under the provisions of this chapter must be
at the first and annual municipal election after such proceedings and
the old officers remain in office until the new officers are elected and
qualified.
Section 4979. When a city or town desires to he annexed to
another and contiguous city or town, the council of each thereof must
appoint three commissioners to arrange and report to the municipal
authorities respectively, the terms and conditions on which the annexa-
tion can he made, and if the City or Town Council of the municipal
corporation to be annexed approves of the terms thereof, it must by
ordinance so declare, and thereupon submit the question of annexa-
tion to the electors of the respective cities or towns. If a majority of
the electors vote in favor of annexation, the Council must so declare,
and a certified copy of the proceedings for annexation and of the ordi-
nances must be filed with the clerk of the county in which the cities
or towns so annexed are situated, and when so filed the annexation
is complete, and the city or town to which the annexation is made
has power, in addition to other powers conferred by this title, to pass
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 165
all necessary ordinances to carry Into effect the terms of the annexa-
tion. Such annexations do not affect or Impair any rights, obligations,
or liabilities then existing, for or against either of such cities or towns.
CITIES AND TOWNS— OFFICERS AND ELECTIONS
Section 4905. The officers of a city of the first class consist of
one Mayor, two aldermen from each ward, one Police Judge, one City
Treasurer, who may he ex-officio Tax Collector, who must be elected
by the qualified electors of the city as hereinafter provided. There
may also be appointed by the Mayor, with the advice and consent of
the Council, one City Attorney, one City Clerk, one Chief of Police,
one Assessor, one Street Commissioner, one City Jailer, one City
Surveyor, and whenever a paid fire department is established in such
city, a Chief Engineer and one or more assistant engineers, and any
other officers necessary to carry out the provisions of this title. The
City Council may, by ordinance, prescribe the duties of all city offi-
cers and fix their compensation, subject to the limitations contained in
this title.
Section 4996. The officers of a city of the second and third classes
consist of one Mayor, two Aldermen from each ward, one Police
Judge, one City Treasurer, who may be ex-officio Tax Collector, who
must be elected by the qualified electors of the city as hereinafter
provided. There may also be appointed by the Mayor, with the advice
and consent of the Council, one City Clerk, who is ex-officio City
Assessor, one Chief of Police, one City Attorney, and any other of-
ficer necessary to carry out the provisions of this title. The City
Council may prescribe the duties of all city officers, and fix their
compensation, subject to the limitations contained in this title.
Section 4997. The officers of a town consist of one Mayor and
two Aldermen from each ward, who must be elected by the qualified
electors of the town as hereinafter provided. There may be appointed
by the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the Council, one Clerk,
who may be ex-officio Assessor and a member of the Council, and one
Treasurer, who may be ex-officio Tax Collector, and one Marshal.
who may be ex-officio Street Commissioner, and any other officers
necessary to carry out the provisions of this title. The Town Council
may prescribe the duties of all town officers, and fix their compensa-
tion, subject to the limitations contained in this title.
Section 5001. The first City or Town Council elected under the
provisions of this title must divide the city or town into wards for
election and other purposes, having regard to population so as to make
them as nearly equal as possible.
Section 5002. Cities of the first class must be divided into not less
than four nor more than ten wards; cities of the second class into
not less than three nor more than six; and cities of the third class
into not less than two nor more than four wards ; and towns into not
less than two nor more than three wards. All changes in the number
166 ELECTION LAWS OE MONTANA
and boundaries of wards must be made by ordinance, and no new
ward must l>e created unless there shall he within its boundaries one
hundred and fifty electors, or more.
Section 5003. On the first Monday of April of every second year
a municipal election must be held, at which the qualified electors
of each town or city must elect a Mayor and two Aldermen from
each ward, to be voted for by the wards they respectively represent :
the Mayor to hold office for a term of two (2) years, and until the
qualification of his successor ; and each Alderman so elected to hold
office for a term of two (2) years, and until the qualification of his
successor; and also in cities of the first, second and third class, a
Police Judge and a City Treasurer, who shall hold office for a term
of two (2) years, and until the qualification of their successors; pro-
vided, however, that in all cities and towns when the term of office
of the incumbent Mayor, Alderman, Police Judge or City Treasurer will
not expire until the first Monday in May, 11)36. a special election
must be held on the first Monday in April, 1936. at which election a
successor to such Mayor, Alderman, Police Judge or City Treasurer
shall be elected for a term of one (1) year, and thereafter no election
shall be held for the election of city officers, except every second
year. As amended by Chapter 60. Laws of 1935.
Section 5004. No person shall be eligible to the office of Mayor
unless he shall be at least twenty-five years old and a taxpaying free-
holder within the limits of the city, and a resident of the state for
at least three years, and a resident of the city for which he may be
elected Mayor two years next preceding his election to said office,
and shall reside in the city or town for which he shall be elected
Mayor during his term of office.
Section 5005. At the first annual election held after the organi-
zation of a city or town under this title, the electors of such city
or town must elect two Aldermen from each ward, who must, at the
first meeting of the Council, decide by lot their terms of office, one
from each ward to hold for a term of two years, and one for the term
of one year, and until the qualification of their successors.
Section 5006. The terms of all officers elected at a municipal
election are to commence on the first Monday in May after such election.
Section 5007. No person is eligible to any municipal office, elective
or appointive, who is not a citizen of the United States, and who has
not resided in the town or city for at least two years immediately
preceding his election or appointment, and is not a qualified elector
thereof.
Section 5008. No person shall be eligible to the office of Alder-
man unless be shall be a taxpaying freeholder within the limits of a
city, and a resident of the ward so electing him for at least one year
preceding such election.
Section 5009. The Council must provide by ordinance for the reg-
istration of electors in any city or town, and may prohibit any person
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 167
from voting at any election unless he lias been registered; bul such
ordinance must not be in conflict with the general law providing for
the registration of electors, and must not change the qualifications of
electors except as in this title provided.
Section 5010. All qualified electors of the state who have resided
in the city or town for six months and in the ward for thirty days
next preceding the election are entitled to vote at any municipal election.
Section 5011. The Council must appoint judges and clerks of elec-
tion, and places of voting. There must be at least one place of vot-
ing in each ward, and there may be as many more as the Council
by ordinance shall fix, and the elector must vote in the ward in which
he resides. The election precincts in a city or town must correspond
with wards, but a ward may be subdivided into several voting pre-
cincts, and when so divided the elector shall vote in the precinct in
which he resides, and all elections must be conducted according to the
general laws of the state. In all cities where voting machines are used,
the City Council must subdivide the wards into such number of voting
precincts that there will be no more than six hundred votes in each
precinct.
Section 5012. On the Monday following any election, the Council
must convene and publicly canvass the result, and issue certificates
of election to each person elected by a plurality of votes. When two
or more persons have received an equal and highest number of votes
for any one of the offices voted for, the Council must thereafter, at
its first regular meeting, decide by vote between the parties which
elected. If the Council from any cause fails to meet on the day named.
the Mayor must call a special meeting of the Council within five days
thereafter, and. in addition to the notice provided for calling special
meetings, must publish the same on two successive days in some news-
paper published in such city or town. If the Mayor fails to call said
meeting within said five days, any three Councilmen may call it. At
such special meeting all elections, appointments, or other business may
be transacted that could have been on the first day herein named.
Section 5013. Each officer of a city or town must take the oath
of office, and such as may be required to give bonds, file the same,
duly approved, within ten days after receiving notice of his election
or appointment ; or, if no notice be received, then on or before the date
fixed for the assumption by him of the duties of the office to which
he may have been elected or appointed ; but if any one, either elected
or appointed to office, fails for ten days to qualify as required by law,
or enter upon his duties at the time fixed by law, then such office
becomes vacant ; or if any officer absents himself from the city or
town continuously for ten days without the consent of the Council, or
openly neglects or refuses to discharge his duties, such office may be
by the Council declared vacant ; or if any officer removes from the
city or town, or any Alderman from his ward, such office must be
by the Council declared vacant.
168 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
Section r>(H -4. The officers elected enter upon their duties the first
Monday of May succeeding their election, and officers appointed by
the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the Council, within ten days
after receiving notice of their appointment.
Section 5015. When any vacancy occurs in any elective office, the
Council, by a majority vote of the members, may fill the same for the
unexpired term and until the qualification id' the successor. A vacancy
in the office of Alderman must he filled from the ward in which the
vacancy exists, but if the Council shall fail to fill such vacancy before
the time for the next election, the qualified electors of such city or
ward may nominate and elect a successor to such office. The Coun-
cil, upon written charges to l>e entered upon their journal, after notice
to the party and after trial by the Council, by vote of two-thirds of
all the members elect, may remove any officer.
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Section f>(>4!). The Council has power to establish and maintain a
free public library, and for that purpose may provide by ordinance
for a tax as follows: In a city or town having assessed valuation
of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars or more, a tax not ex-
ceeding two and one-half mills on the dollar on the property may be
levied. In a city or town having an assessed valuation of less than
seven hundred fifty thousand dollars, a tax not exceeding three mills
on the dollar on the property may l>e levied. The tax so levied and
collected constitutes a fund known as the "'library fund." and must
be expended only for the purchase of books and other things necessary
for a library, and the support and maintenance thereof; provided, that
no increase over the present authorized levy shall be made until the
question of such increase has been first submitted to a vote of the
taxpayers affected thereby.
As amended by Chapter .">:!. Laws of 1931.
Section 5050. Before any such ordinance is passed the Council
must submit to the qualified electors Of the city or town at an elec-
tion the question. At such election the ballot must have printed or
written thereon the words, "Public Library — Yes." •'Public Library — No,"
and in voting the elector must make a cross thus. "X." opposite the
answer for which he intends to vote.
Section 5051. If the majority of the votes cast at such election
is in favor of the establishment of a public library, then such library
must be established as above provided. Such question may be submitted
at the annual or at any special election held in such city or town,
and must be submitted at any such election on the petition of one
hundred or more inhabitants of such city or town.
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 169
INITIATIVE AM) REFERENDUM IN CITIES AND TOWNS
Section .ions. Ordinances may be proposed by the legal voters of
any city or town in this state, in the manner provided in this Act.
ITight pei- cent of the legal voters of any city or town may propose to
tlie City or Town Council an ordinance on the subject within the
legislative jurisdiction and powers of such City or Town Council, or
an ordinance amending or repealing any prior ordinance or ordinances.
Such petition shall be filed with the City or Town Clerk. It shall be
the duty of the City or Town Clerk to present the same to the Coun-
cil at its first meeting next following the filing of the petition. The
Council may, within sixty days after the presentation of the petition
to the Council, pass an ordinance similar to that proposed in the
petition, either in exact terms or with such changes, amendments, or
modifications as the Council may decide upon. If the ordinance pro-
posed by the petition be passed without change, it shall not 1k> sub-
mitted to the people, unless a petition for referendum demanding such
submission shall be filed under the provisions of this Act. If the
Council shall have made any change in the proposed ordinance, a
suit may be brought in the district court in and for the county in
which the city or town is situated, to determine whether or not the
change is material. Such suit may be brought in the name of any
one or more of the petitioners.
The city shall be made the party defendant. Any elector of the
city or town may appear in such suit in person or by counsel on the
hearing thereof, but the court shall have the power to limit the num-
ber of counsel who shall be heard on either side, and the time to be
allowed for argument. It shall only be necessary to state in the com-
plaint that a petition for an ordinance was filed in pursuance of this
Act; that the City Council passed an ordinance on the subject different
from that proposed in the petition : and that the plaintiff desires a
construction of the ordinance so passed to determine whether or not
it differ materially from that proposed. The petition and the ordinance
proposed thereby, and the ordinance actually passed, may be set out in
the complaint, or copies thereof annexed to the complaint. The names
to the petition need not be set out. Such cases shall be advanced and
brought to hearing as speedily as possible, and have precedence over
other cases, except criminal and taxation cases. The court shall have
jurisdiction in such cases to determine whether or not the change made
by the City Council is material, and also whether the petition was
regular in form or substance, and shall also have power to decide, if
the fact l>e put in issue by the defendant, whether or not the petition
was signed by a sufficient number of voters and was regular in form.
If the court shall decide that the change was material and that the
petition was regular in form and signed by a sufficient number of
legal voters, then the ordinance proposed by the petition shall be sub-
mitted to the people as provided in this Act. If the court shall decide
that the ordinance passed by the Council was not materially different
from that proposed in the petition, or the petition was not regular in
170 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
form, or not signed by a sufficient number of legal voters, the ordi-
nance shall m it be submitted to the people. If the court shall decide
that the Changes made by the Council were material, but that the
petition was irregular for some reason, or not properly or sufficiently
signed a new petition, regular in form may be presented by the re-
quired number of legal voters, asking the Council to submit such ordi-
nance to the people, and thereupon the same shall be so submitted as
provided in this Act. If the Council shall not, within sixty days, pass
an ordinance on the subject of the ordinance proposed in the petition.
then the ordinance proposed by the petition shall be submitted to the
people. Before submitting such ordinance to the people, the Mayor or
City or Town Council may direct that a suit be brought in the district
court in and for the county, in the name of the city or town, to deter-
mine whether the petition and ordinance are regular in form, and
whether the ordinance so proposed would be valid and constitutional.
The complaint shall name as defendants not less than ten nor more
than twenty of the petitioners. In addition to the names of such de-
fendants, in the caption of the complaint, there shall be added the
words, "and all petitioners whose names appear on the petition for
an ordinance filed on the day of in the
year.— ," stating the date of filing. The summons shall be
similarly directed and shall be served on the defendants named therein,
and in addition thereto shall be published at least once, at the expense
of the city, in at least one newspaper published in the city or town.
In all suits brought under this section the decision of the district
court shall be final except in cases where it shall decide that the pro-
posed ordinance would be unconstitutional or invalid as being beyond
the powers of the City or Town Council, and in such excepted cases
the petitioners, or any of them, may appeal to the Supreme Court as
in other cases, but shall not be required to give any bond for costs.
The decision of the district court holding such ordinance valid or
constitutional shall not. however, prevent the question being raised
subsequently, if the ordinance shall be passed and go into effect, by
any one affected by the ordinance. -No COStS shall lie allowed to either
side in suits or appeals under this section.
Section 5059. Any ordinance proposed by petition as aforesaid,
which shall be entitled to be submitted to the people, shall be voted on
at the next regular election to be held in the city or town, unless the
petition therefor shall ask thai the same be submitted at a special elec-
tion and such petition lie signed by not less than fifteen per cent of
the electors qualified to vote at the last preceding municipal election.
Section 50(30. No ordinance or resolution passed by the Council of
any city or town shall become effective until thirty days after its pass-
age, except general appropriation ordinances providing for the ordinary
and current expenses of the city or town, exeepting also emergency
measures, and in case of emergency measures the emergency must be
expressed in tin' preamble or in the body of the measure, and the meas-
ure must receive a two-thirds vote of all the members elected.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 171
In emergency ordinances the resolutions shall Include only such
measures ns are Immediately accessary for the preservation of peace,
health, and safety, and shall nol include a franchise or license to a
corporation or individual, nor any provisions for the sale of real estate.
nor any lease or letting of any property for a period exceeding one year.
nor the purchase or sale of personal property exceeding five thousand
dollars in value.
Section 5061. During the thirty days following the passage of any
ordinance or resolution, five per cent of the qualified electors of the
city or town may. by petition addressed to the Council and filed with
the clerk of the city or town, demand that such ordinance or resolu-
tion, or any part or parts thereof, shall he suhmitted to the electors
of the city or town.
Section 5062. Any measure on which a referendum is demanded
under the provisions of this Act shall he suhmitted to the electors of
the city or town at the next municipal election; provided, the petition
or petitions shall have been filed with the City Clerk at least thirty
days before such election. If such petition or petitions he signed by
not less than fifteen per cent of the qualified electors of the city or
(own, the measures shall he suhmitted at a special election to he held
for the purpose.
Section 5063. The City or Town Council may in any case order
a special election on a measure proposed by the initiative, or when a
referendum is demanded, or upon any ordinance passed by the City or
Town Council, and may likewise submit to the electors, at a general
election any ordinance passed by the City or Town Council.
Section 5064. Whenever a measure is ready for submission to the
electors, the clerk of the city or town shall, in writing, notify the
Mayor thereof, who, forthwith, shall issue a proclamation setting forth
the measure and the date of the election or vote to be had thereon.
Said proclamation shall he published four days in four consecutive
weeks in each daily paper in the municipality, if there be such, other-
wise in the weekly newspapers published in the city or town. In case
there is no weekly newspaper published, the proclamation and the
measure shall be posted conspicuously throughout the city or town.
Section 5065. The question to be balloted upon by the electors
shall be printed on the initiative or referendum ballot, and the form
shall be that prescribed by law for questions submitted at state elec-
tions. The referendum or initiative ballots shall he counted, canvassed,
and returned by the regular board of judges, clerks and officers, as
votes for candidates for office are counted, canvassed, and returned.
The returns for the question submitted by the voters of the munici-
pality shall be on separate sheets, and returned to the clerk of the
municipality. The return shall be canvassed in the same manner as
the returns of regular elections for municipal officers. The Mayor of
the municipality shall issue his proclamation, as soon as the result of
the final canvass is known, giving the whole number of votes cast in
172 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
the municipality for and against such measure, and it shall be pub-
lished in like manner :is other proclamations herein provided for. A
measure accepted by the electors shall take effect five days after the
vote is officially announced.
Section 5000. The qualifications for voting on questions submitted
to the electors, under the provisions hereof, shall be the same as
those required for voting at municipal elections in the city or town
at elections for Mayor or Aldermen thereof. And where, by the laws
of the state, or by ordinance of the city or town made in pursuance
thereof, electors are required to register in order to be qualified to
vote at municipal elections, the registration book or books shall be
prima facie evidence of the right to sign any petition herein provided
for.
Section 5007. The form of petitions and the proceedings under this
Act shall conform as nearly as possible, with the necessary changes as
to details, to the provisions of the laws of the state relating to the
initiative and referendum, and he regulated by such laws, except as
otherwise provided in this Act. The City Clerk shall perform the du-
ties which, under the state laws, devolve upon the County Clerk and
Secretary of State, insofar as the provisions relating thereto may be
made to apply to the case of the City or Town Clerk; but it shall
not be necessary to mail or distribute copies of the petitions or meas-
ures to the electors of the city or town.
Section 500S. The provisions of this Act regarding the referendum
shall not apply to ordinances which are required by any other law of
the state to he submitted to the voters or the electors or taxpayers of
any city or town.
MUNICIPAL CONTRACTS AND FRANCHISES
Section 5074. The Council must not grant a franchise or special
privilege to any person save and except in the manner specified in
the next section. The powers of the Council are those only expressly
prescribed by law and those1 necessarily incident thereto.
Section 5075. No franchise for any purpose whatsoever shall be
granted by any city or town, or by the Mayor or City Council thereof,
to any person oi persons, association, or corporation, without first
submitting the application therefor to the resident freeholders whose
names shall appear on the city or county tax-roll preceding such
election.
Section r>07<>. A notice of such election must be published at least
in one daily newspaper, if there be one published in the city or town
and if not, in some weekly newspaper of general circulation, at least
once a Week for three successive weeks, and such notice must be
posted in three public places in the city or town. The notice must
state the time and place of holding the election, and the character of
any such franchise applied for, and the valuable consideration, if any
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 173
there be, to be derived by the city. At such election the ballots must
contain the words, "For granting Franchise," "Against granting fran-
chise," and in voting, the elector must make 8 cross thus. "X." opposite
the answer he intends to vote for. Such election must he conducted
and canvassed and the return made in the same manner as other city
or town elections.
Section o077. If the majority of votes cast at the election he
"For granting franchise," the Mayor and City Council must thereupon
grant the same by the passage and approval of a proper ordinance.
MUNICIPAL COURTS
(Chapter 177. Laws of 1935)
Section 3. ELECTION OF JUDGES. There shall he elected at
the general city election in the year 1936 in all cities with a popula-
tion of twenty thousand (20.000) and over, one judge of municipal
court. The term of such judge so elected shall commence on the first
Monday in May. 1936, and terminate on the first Monday in May.
1938. Thereafter, judges of municipal courts shall he elected at the
general city elections in all even numbered years. Such judges shall
hold office for the term of two years from the first Monday of May
in the year in which they are elected and until their successor is
elected and qualified. All elections of municipal judges shall he under
and governed by the laws applicable to the election of city officials.
except that the names of candidates for municipal judge shall be
placed on the ballot to be used at such election without any party
designation or any statement, measure or principle which the candidate
advocates or any slogan after his name.
BONDING FIRE DISTRICTS IN UNINCORPORATED TOWNS
Section .114!). Whenever the Hoard of County Commissioners shall
have established a fire district in any unincorporated town or village,
said Board of County Commissioners shall be and is hereby consti-
tuted ex-officio a Board of Directors of such fire district. The Board
of Directors of any duly established fire district in unincorporated
towns or villages within this state shall, whenever a majority of the
directors so decide, submit to the electors of the district the question
of whether the board shall be authorized to issue bonds to a certain
amount, not to exceed three per cent of the percentum of the assessed
value of the taxable property in such district, and bearing a rate of
interest not exceeding six per cent for the purpose of purchasing fire
equipment, necessary lands, erecting buildings for fire purposes, acquir-
ing a water supply, purchasing or otherwise acquiring or constructing
a water system and establishing pipe lines. No such bonds shall be
issued unless a majority of all the votes cast at any such election shall
be cast in favor of such issue. Such bonds may be either amortiza-
tion or serial bonds, but shall not extend over a longer term than
ten years. As amended by Chapter 130, Laws of 1925.
174 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
Section 5150. The time fixed for holding such election must be at
least thirty days after the date of the order calling such election.
Notice of such election must be given by the Board of Directors by
posting notices thereof, at least ten days before the day of election,
in three public places within such district, one of which must be at
the polling place. The Board of Directors must designate a polling
place within such district and name three persons residing therein.
and who are qualified to vote at such election, as judges and clerks
of such election, and a copy of the order fixing the day of election
must be delivered to the County Clerk and Recorder of the county in
which such district is located immediately after the same is made.
Upon receipt of the copy of such order the County Clerk and Recorder
must, at least twenty days before the day fixed for holding such elec-
tion, cause a notice to be posted in at least three public places in such
fire district, stating that the register of voters for the precinct in
which such district is located will be closed on a day to be specified
therein, and which must be the tenth day before the day for holding
such election, and on the day specified therein the register of voters
for such precinct must he closed and remain closed until after the
holding of such election. The County Clerk and Recorder shall, im-
mediately after the closing of registration for such precinct, make a
copy of the register of voters for such precinct and deliver the same
to the County Treasurer who shall compare the same with the assess-
ment books for the last assessment for state and county taxes, and
note after the name of each person contained in such register whether
9uch person's name appears on such assessment books, and make out
and sign a certificate giving the names of all such persons whose
names do appear on such assessment hooks and attach the same to
such register, and the Treasurer must then return such register to
the County Clerk and Recorder who must deliver the same to the per-
sons named as judges and clerks of such election. At such election
no person whose name dots not appear in such Treasurer's certificate
as a taxpayer whose name appears on the last assessment books shall
he permitted to vote, and no person whose name does so appear in
such certificate shall he permitted to vote unless he shall reside within
the limits of the fire district, and every person offering to vote at
such election, and otherwise qualified to do so. must make and sub-
SCribe an affidavit before one of such judges id" election, stating that
he actually resides within the limits of such fire district, and all such
affidavits shall he preserved and delivered to the Board of Directors
Of tin' district at the same time the returns are delivered to such hoard.
The polls for such election shall he opened at 1 o'clock in the after-
i n and remain open until (i o'clock in the afternoon. The judges
and clerks shall count the votes cast at such election and shall make
a return thereof to tin' directors of the district, who shall canvass
and declare the result of such election. The Board of Directors shall
cause the affidavits herein provided for and the ballots to be prepared
for such election in a number equal to the total number of registered
electors in the precinct in which the district is located, which ballots
shall be substantially in the following form:
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 175
"Shnll bonds be issued and sold to the amount of
dollars and bearing not to exceed 695 interesl per annum and for a
period not exceeding years for the purpose of (state
purpose.)'*
□ BONDS— YES.
□ BONDS— NO.
The elector shall prepare his ballot by marking an X in the square
before the proposition for which he desires to vote. If a majority of
the votes cast at such election is in favor of issuing bonds the Board
of Directors shall issue such bonds ; such bonds shall be issued in sub-
stantially the same manner and form as bonds of school districts of
the third class, shall bear the signature of the Chairman of the Board
of Directors, and of the County Becorder, as ex-officio secretary of
the fire district: if coupons are attached to the bonds they shall also
be signed by such chairman and secretary, provided that a litho-
graphic, printed or engraved facsimile signature of the president and
secretary may be affixed to the coupons if so recited in the bonds,
and the seal of the fire district shall be affixed to each bond. Each
bond shall be registered in the office of the County Treasurer in a
book provided for that purpose, which shall show the number and
amount of each bond and the person to whom the same is issued or
sold; and the said bond shall be sold by the Board of Directors as
hereinafter provided." As amended by Chapter 130, Laws of 1925.
INDEBTEDNESS OF CITIES OR TOWNS— BONDS
Constitutional Provisions, Art. XIII. Sec. 6. page 14)
Section "3105. Whenever the Council of any city or town shall
deem it necessary to raise money by taxation, in excess of the levy
now allowed by law. for any purpose for which said city or town is
authorized to expend moneys raised by taxation in said city or town,
it shall submit the question of such additional levy to the legal voters
of such city or town who are taxpaying freeholders therein, either at
the regular annual election held in said city or town, or at a special
election called for that purpose by the Council of such city or town;
provided, however, that such additional levy shall not exceed five mills.
Section 5196. Where the question of making such additional levy
is so submitted, notice thereof shall be given by publication for at
least thirty days prior to such election in every newspaper published
in said city or town, and by posting a like notice for the same period
of time in a public place in each ward of said city or town.
Section 5197. The submission of said question shall expressly pro-
vide for what purpose such additional levy is to be made, and, if au-
thorized, the money raised for such additional levy shall be used for
that specific purpose only; provided, that if any balance remain on
hand after the purpose for which said levy was made has been ac-
complished, such balance may, by vote of the Council, be transferred
to any other fund of said city or town.
176 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Section 5198. If at any time it is desired to submit the question
of additional levies for more than one purpose, such proposition shall
be submitted on separate ballots, each of which ballots shall be in
substantially the following form: Shall the City (or Town) Council
lie authorized to make a levy of (here insert the number) mills taxes
in addition to the regular levy now authorized by law for the pur-
pose of (here insert the purpose for which the additional levy is to
be made).
Against additional levy.
For additional levy.
The voters shall mark the ballot or ballots in the same manner as
other ballots are ma iked under the election laws of this state. The elec-
tion shall be held and the votes canvassed and returned as in other
city or town elections. If the majority voting on the question are in
favor of such additional levy or levies, the City or Town Council shall
so certify, and such additional levy or levies of taxes shall he made
by the City or Town Council for that year.
Section 5199. The Council may provide by ordinance for the regis-
tration of qualified electors who are taxpaying freeholders in such city
or town, and no person shall be entitled to register or vote at such
election who is not such taxpaying freeholder and qualified elector.
CHAPTER 160, LAWS OF 1931
Section 1. CREATION OF INDEBTEDNESS— SUBMISSION TO
TAXPAYERS. Whenever the Council of any city or town having a
corporate existence in this state, or hereafter organized under any of
the laws thereof, shall deem it necessary to issue bonds for any pur-
pose Whatever, under its powers as set forth in Subdivision (t4 of
Section 5039 of the Revised Codes of Montana, 1921, or amendments
thereto, the question of issuing SUCll bonds shall first be submitted to
the qualified electors of such city or town in the manner hereinafter
<et forth; provided, however, that it shall not he necessary to submit
to such electors the question of issuing funding or refunding bonds to
fund or refund warrants or bonds issued prior to and outstanding on
the first day of July. 1931, or to fund or refund warrants or bonds
issued prior to and outstanding on the first day of July. 1933. In
order to issue bonds to fund or refund warrants or bonds issued prior
to and outstanding on July 1. 1931, or to fund or refund warrants
or bonds issued prior to and outstanding on July 1, 1933, it shall
only be necessary for the Council, at a regular or duly called special
meeting, to pass and adopt a resolution setting forth the facts in re-
gard to the Indebtedness to be funded or refunded, showing the reason
for Issuing such bonds and fixing and and determining the details
thereof, giving notice of the sale thereof in the same manner that
notice is required to be given of the sale of bonds authorized at an
election, and then following the procedure prescribed in this Act for
the sale and Issuance id" such bonds.
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA l77
Section*;. PETITION FOR ELECTION— FORM— PROOF. No bonds
shall be issued by ;i city or town for any purpose except to fund or
refund warrants or bonds Issued prior to and outstanding on July 1
1931, as authorized in Section l of this Act, unless authorized at a
duly called special or general election at which the question of issuing
such bonds was submitted to the qualified electors of the city or town,
and approved, as hereinafter provided, and no such election shall be
called unless there has been presented to the city or town Council a
petition, asking that such election be held and question submitted,
signed by not less than twenty per centum (20%) of the qualified elec-
tors of the city or town who are taxpayers upon property within such
city or town and whose names appear on the last completed assessment
roll for state and county taxes, as taxpayers within such city or town.
Every petition for the calling of an election to vote upon the question
of issuing honds shall plainly and clearly state the purpose or purposes
for which it is proposed to issue such bonds, and shall contain an esti-
mate of the amount necessary to be issued for such purpose or pur-
poses. There may he a separate petition for each purpose, or two (2)
or more purposes may he combined in one (1) petition, if each pur-
pose with an estimate of the amount of bonds to be issued therefor
is separately stated in such petition. Such petition may consist of one
1 1 i sheet, or of several sheets identical in form and fastened together.
after being circulated and signed, so as to form a single complete pe-
tition before being delivered to the city or town clerk, as hereinafter
provided. The petition shall give the street and house number, if any.
and the voting precinct of each person signing the same.
Only persons who are qualified to sign such petition shall be quali-
fied to circulate the same, and there shall be attached to the com
pleted petition the affidavit of sonic person who circulated, or assisted
in circulating, such petition, that he believes the signatures thereon
are genuine and that the signers knew the contents thereof before
signing the same. The completed petition shall he filed with the city
or town clerk who shall, within fifteen (15) days thereafter, carefully
examine the same and the county records showing the qualifications of
the petitioners, and attach thereto a certificate under his official sig-
nature, which shall set forth :
(1 ) The total number of persons who are registered electors and
whose names appear upon the last completed assessment roll for state
and county taxes, as taxpayers within such city or town.
(2) Which, and how many of the persons whose mimes are sub-
scribed to such petition, are possessed of all of the qualifications re-
quired of signers to such petition.
(3) Whether such qualified signers constitute more or less than
twenty per centum (20%) of the registered electors whose names appear
upon the last completed assessment roll for state and county taxes,
as taxpayers within such city or town.
Section 7. CONSIDERATION OF PETITIONS-CALLING ELEC-
TION. When such petition has been filed with the city or town clerk
178 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
mid ho lias found it has a sufficient number of signers qualified to
sign the same, he shall place the same before the city or town Council
at its first meeting held after he has attached his certificate thereto.
The Council shall thereupon examine such petition and make such other
investigation as it may deem necessary.
If it is found the petition is in proper form, bears the requisite
number of signatures of qualified petitioners, and is in all other re-
spects sufficient, the Council shall pass and adopt a resolution which
shall recite the essential facts in regard to the petition and its filing
and presentation, the purpose or purposes for which the bonds are
proposed to be issued, and fix the exact amount of bonds to be issued
for each purpose, which amount may be less than but must not exceed
the amount set forth in the petition, determine the number of years
through which such bonds are to be paid, not exceeding the limitations
fixed in Section 3 of this Act, and making provision for having such
question submitted to the qualified electors of the city or town at the
next general city or town election, or at a special election which the
council may call for such purpose.
Section 8. NOTICE OF ELECTION— ELECTION HOURS— ELEC-
TION OFFICERS. Whether such election is held at the general city or
town election, or at a special election, separate notice shall be given
I hereof. Such notice shall state the date when such election will be
held, the hours between which the polls will be open, the amount of
bonds proposed to be issued, the purpose thereof, the term of years
through which the bonds will be paid, and such other information regard-
ing the election and the proposed bonds as the board may deem proper.
If the bonds proposed to be issued are for two (2) or more purposes, each
purpose and the amount thereof must be separately stated. Such notice
shall be posted in each voting precinct in the city or town at least ten
(10) days prior to the date for holding such election, and must also be
published once a week for a period of not less than two (2) eonsecu-
livc weeks immediately preceding the date for holding such election in
some newspaiK'r published in the city or town, if there be one, and if
not then in a newspaper published in the state at a point in the state
nearest to the city or town, and designated by the City or Town Council.
If the question of issuing bonds is submitted at a special election
called for such purpose, the City or Town Council shall fix the hours
through which the polls are to be kept open, which shall be not less
than eight (Si. and which must be stated in the notice of election,
and may appoint a smaller huuiIkm- of judges than is required at a
general city or town election, but in no case shall there be less than
l luce (3) judges in a precinct and such judges shall act as their own
clerks.
If the question of issuing bonds is submitted at a general city or
i own election, the polls shall be kept open during the same hours as
are fixed for the general election and the judges and clerks for such
general election shall act as the judges and clerks thereof.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 179
Section 9. FORM OF BALLOTS AND CONDUCT OF ELECTION.
Whenever the question of issuing bonds is submitted al either a general
city or town election, or al a special election, separate ballots shall be
provided therefor. Such ballots shall be white in color and of con-
venient size, being only large enough to contain the printing herein
required to be done and placed thereon, and shall have printed thereon
in fair-sized, legible type and black ink, in one (1) line or more, as re-
quired, the word "FOR" (stating the proposition and the terras thereof
explicitly and at length), and thereunder the word "AGAINST" (stat-
ing the proposition and terms in like manner as above, ; and there
shall be before the word "FOR" and before the word "AGAINST," each,
a square space of sufficient size to place a plain cross or X therein.
and such arrangement shall be in the following manner:
FOR (stating the proposition).
Q AGAINST (stating the proposition).
If the bonds are sought to be issued for two (2) or more separate
purposes, then separate ballots must be provided for each purpose or
proposition.
The election shall be conducted, and the returns made, in the same
manner as other city or town elections; and all election laws govern-
ing city or town elections shall govern, in so far as they are applicable,
but if such question be submitted at a general city or town election
the votes thereon must be counted separately and separate returns must
be made by the judges and clerks at such election. Returns must be
made separately for each proposition or question submitted at such
election.
Section 10. WHO ARE ENTITLED TO VOTE— REGISTRATION
OF ELECTORS. Only such registered electors of the city or town
whose names appear upon the last preceding assessment roll for state
and county taxes, as taxpayers upon property within the city or town,
shall be entitled to vote upon any proposition of issuing bonds by the
city or town. Such registered and qualified electors may be determined
from the registration books and assessment rolls of the county, and
lists thereof and poll-books for such election prepared and furnished in
the manner provided by Section 2 of Chapter OS Session Laws. 1023.
as amended by Chapter 47 Session Laws. 1920; provided, however, that
the City or Town Council, in lieu thereof, may provide by ordinance
for the registration of the electors of the city or town entitled to vote
at any such election, but no person shall be entitled to register oi
vote at such election who is not a qualified elector and taxpayer as
hereinbefore set forth.
Section 11. PERCENTAGE OF VOTERS REQUIRED TO AU
THORIZE THE ISSUING OF BONDS. Wherever the question of issu
ing bonds for any purpose is submitted to the qualified electors of a
city or town, at either a general or special election, not less than forty
per centum (40%) of the qualified electors entitled to vote on such
proposition or question must vote thereon, otherwise such proposition
180 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
sluill be deemed to have been rejected; provided, however, that if forty
per centum (40% i or more of such qualified electors do vote on such
proposition <»r question at such election, and a majority of such votes
shall be east in favor of such question <>r proposition, thou such propo-
sition or question shall be deemed to have been adopted and approved.
Section 12. CANVASS OF ELECTION RETURNS— RESOLUTION
FOR BOND ISSUE. Tf the bonding election is held at the same time
as a general city or town election, then the returns shall he canvassed
by the City or Town Council at the same time as the returns from
such general election; but if the question of issuing bonds is submitted
at a special election then the City or Town Council shall meet within
ten (10 1 days after the date of holding such special election and can-
pass the returns. If it is found that at such election forty per centum
(40%) or more of the qualified electors of the city or town entitled to
vote on such question or proposition voted thereon, and that a majority
of such votes were cast in favor of the issuing of such bonds, the
City or Town Council shall, at a regular or special meeting held within
thirty (30) days thereafter, pass and adopt a resolution providing for
the issuance of such bonds. Such resolution shall recite the purpose for
which such bonds are to 1h> issued, the amount thereof, the maximum
rate of interest the bonds may bear, the date they shall bear, the
period of time through which they shall l>c payable, and that any
thereof be redeemed in full, at the option of the city or town, on any
interest payment date from and after ten (101 years from the date of
issue : and provide for the manner of the execution of the same. It
Shall provide that preference shall be given amortization bonds but shall
fix the denomination of serial bonds in case it shall be found advan-
tageous to issue bonds in that form, and shall adopt a form of notice
of the sale of the bonds.
The board may, in its discretion, provide thai such bonds may lie
issued and sold in two C2) or more series or installments.
ABATEMENT OF SMOKK NUISANCE
Section 5292. For the purpose id" raising moneys to meet the pay-
ments under the terms and conditions of said contract, and other nec-
.ir.v and proper expenses in and about the same, and the approval
or disapproval thereof, it shall be the duty of the Board of County
Commissioner-, if the petition be presented to it within thirty days
thereafter, to ascertain the existing indebtedness of the county in the
aggregate, and within sixty days after ascertaining the same to sub-
mit to the electors of such county the proposition to approve or dis-
approve the said contract and the issuance of bonds necessary to carry
out the same, which shall not exceed five per centum of the value of
I he taxable property therein, inclusive of the existing indebtedness
thereof, to lie ascertained by the last assessment for state and county
taxes previous to the issuance of said bonds and incurring said indebted-
ness; and if said petition be presented t<» the Council of any incorporated
city or town, then within thirty days thereafter they shall ascertain
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 181
the aggregate indebtedness of such city or town, and, within sixty
diiys after ascertaining the same, submit to the electors of such city
or town the proposition to approve or disapprove said contract, and
the issuance of bonds necessary to carry out the same, winch shall nol
exceed three per centum of the value of the taxable property therein,
inclusive of the existing indebtedness thereof, to be ascertained in the
manner hereinbefore provided, and if disapproved, the expenses of such
election shall be paid out of the general fund of such county, city, or
town, as the case may be.
Section 5293. The vote upon such proposition shall be had at an
election for that purpose to be held, conducted, counted, and results
ascertained and determined in the manner and by the same officers
provided by law for general elections, except as otherwise herein pro-
vided, and the proposition to be submitted shall be upon printed tickets
or ballots, upon each of which shall be printed the following: "For
the contract and bonds," "Against the contract and bonds." the former
above the latter, and the elector shall indicate his vote by a cross oppo-
site the one or the other for which he votes; and if it appears from
the result of such election that a majority of the votes cast were "For
the contract and bonds," then said contract shall be in full force and
effect, and the said bonds shall be issued and disposed of in the manner
hereinafter provided. If it shall appear from the result of such election
that there was a tie, or a majority of said votes were cast "Against the
contract and bonds," then the said contract and bond given for its
fulfillment shall be null and void and of no effect, and said bonds and
none thereof shall be issued.
Section 5294. The Board of County Commissioners of the county
in which such election is to be held, or the Council of the incorporated
city or town, as the case may be. shall give notice of such election,
stating the objects thereof, the time and place of holding the same,
such conditions of the contract as in their judgment are proper and
necessary to enable the electors to vote intelligently upon the proposi-
tion submitted to them, the amount of bonds proposed to be issued, when
payable, and the interest they are to bear, with a description of the
tickets or ballots to be used, in some newspaper printed and published
and circulated in the county, or city, or town, as the case may be. in
which such election shall be held, at least three times a week for at
least six consecutive weeks next preceding such election, and if no
newspaper be printed, published, and circulated therein, then in some
newspaper printed and published in some county nearest thereto.
Section 5299. No registration under the election laws of this state
shall be required for the purposes of the election herein provided for,
and the registration had at the last election preceding the same shall
govern and control as if especially had and done for the purposes of
the election to be held under this Act.
182 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
COMMISSION FORM OF GOVERNMENT FOR CITIES
CHAPTER 13
An Act Relating to the Election of Mayor and Councilmen Under the
Commission Form of Government and Providing When Names of Can-
didates at Primary Elections Shall Not be Placed Upon the General
Municipal Election Ballot and When No General Municipal Election
Shall be Held.
Be It Enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Montana:
Section 1. Whenever, in any city operating under a commission
form of government, at a primary election held in accordance with
Section 5377 of the Revised Codes of Montana of 1921. a Councilman
or Councilmen or a Mayor and Councilman or Councilmen are to be
ilccted, one person or candidate for any office to be filled shall receive
a majority of all votes cast for such office, then such person or per-
sons shall he deemed didy elected to the respective office or offices
for which he or they receive such majority vote. If at such primary
election more than two (2) persons are candidates for the same office
and no one person receives a majority of all votes cast for such office
then the names of the two persons receiving the highest number of
votes shall be placed upon the general municipal election ballot under
the provisions of Section 5377 of the Revised Codes of Montana of 1921.
If, in any year, all officers to be elected are thus elected by a majority
vote at such primary election, then, in that event, no general municipal
election shall be held in said city for said year.
Section 2. All Acts and parts of Acts in conflict herewith are
hereby repealed.
Section 3. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and
after its passage and approval.
Approved February 10, 1933.
COMMISSION FORM OF GOVERNMENT FOR CITIES
Section 536G. Any city may abandon its organization and reor-
ganize under the provisions of this Ad. by proceeding as hereinafter
provided.
Section o.'tlu. Upon a petition being filed with the City Council
signed by not less than twenty-five per cent of the qualified electors
of such city registered tor the last preceding city election, praying
thai the question of reorganization under this Act he submitted to the
qualified electors of such city, said City Council shall thereupon, and
within thirty days thereafter, order a special election to he held, at
which election the question of reorganization of SUCb City, under the
provisions of this Act, shall be submitted to the qualified electors of
BUCh city.
Such order Of the City Council shall specify therein the time when
such election shall he held, which must he within ninety days from
the date of the filing of such petition.
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA 183
Section 536S. Upon the City Council ordering such special election
to 1k> held, the Mayor of such city shall issue a proclamation setting
forth the purpose for which such special election is called, and the
date of holding such special election, which proclamation shall be
published for ten consecutive days in each daily newspaper published
in said city, if there he such otherwise once a week for two consecu-
tive weeks in each weekly newspaper published therein, and such procla-
mation shall also he posted in at least five public places within such
city.
Section 5360. At such election the ballots to be used shall be
printed upon plain, white paper, and shall be headed "Special election
for the purpose of submitting to the qualified electors of the City of
the question of reorganization of the City of
under Chapter (name of chapter containing this
Act) of the Acts of the Twelfth Legislative Assembly." and shall be
substantially in the following form :
For reorganization of the City of under Chapter
(name of chapter containing this Act) of the Acts of the Twelfth
Legislative Assembly.
Against reorganization of the City of under Chap-
ter (name of chapter containing this Act) of the Acts of the Twelfth
Legislative Assembly.
Such election shall be conducted and vote canvassed and result de-
clared in the same manner as provided by law in respect to other
city elections.
Section 5370. If such proposition is adopted, the Mayor shall trans-
mit to the Governor, to the Secretary of State, and to the County
Clerk and Recorder, each, a certificate stating that such proposition
was adopted.
If such proposition shall not be adopted at such special election,
such proposition shall not again he submitted to the electors of such
city within a period of two years thereafter.
Section 5371. If a majority of the votes cast at such election shall
he in favor of such proposition, the City Council must, at its first
regular meeting held thereafter, order a special election to be held for
the purpose of electing a Mayor and the number of Councilmen to
which such city shall be entitled, which order shall specify the time
of holding such election, which must Ik? within ninety days after the
making of said order, and the Mayor shall thereupon issue a proclama-
tion setting forth the purposes for which such special election is called
and the day of holding the same, which proclamation shall be pub-
lished for ten successive days in each daily newspaper published in
such city, if there be such, otherwise once a week for two consecutive
weeks in each weekly newspaper published therein, and a copy thereof
shall also be posted at each voting place within said city, and also in
at least ten of the most public places in said city.
184 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
Section 5372. Such election shall be conducted, the vote canvassed,
and result declared in the same manner as provided by law in respeel
h> other city election.
Section n:;?.".. All laws governing cities of the first, second and
third classes, and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Aft. shall
apply to and govern Cities organized under this Act. All by-laws, ordi-
nances, and resolutions lawfully passed and in force in any such city
under its former organization shall remain in force until altered or
repealed by the Council elected under the provisions of this Act. The
territorial limits of such city shall remain the same as under the former
organization, and all rights and property of every description, which
were vested in any such city under its former organization, shall vest
in the same under the organization herein contemplated, and no right
or liability either in favor of or against it. existing at the time, and
no suit or prosecution of any kind shall be affected by such change,
unless otherwise provided for in this Act.
Section 5374. In every city of the third class, there shall be a
Mayor and two Councilmen ; in every city of the second class, a Mayor
and two Councilmen; in every city of the first class having a popula-
tion of less than twenty-five thousand, a Mayor and two Councilmen.
and in every city of the first class having a population of twenty-
five thousand or more, a Mayor and four Councilmen, and the Mayor
and all Councilmen shall be elected at large.
If any vacancy shall occur in the office of Mayor or Councilman,
the remaining members of the Council shall by a majority vote, elect
a i>erson to fill such vacancy until the next general city election, and
if. in filling such vacancy, a tie vote should occur, then the person to
fill said vacancy shall he determined by lot in such manner as said
Council may provide.
Section 5375. The Mayor and Councilmen elected at such special
election shall qualify, and their terms of office shall begin on the first
Monday alter their election, and the terms of office of the Mayor and
Councilmen or Aldermen in such city in office at the beginning of
the term of office of the Councilmen first elected under the provisions
of this Act shall then cease and determine, and the terms of office
of all their appointed Officers in force in such city, except as herein-
after provided, shall cense and determine as soon as the Council shall
by resolution declare.
Section 5376. The terms of office of the Mayor and all Councilmen
elected at such special election shall expire on the first Monday in
May of the year following their election. At the first regular city
election held in the year in which the terms of office of the Mayor
and Councilmen elected at such special election shall expire, a Mayor
and two Councilmen shall he elected in cities having a population of
less than twenty-five thousand. The Mayor elected at such first general
city election shall hold office for two years; one of the Councilmen
elected at such first city election shall hold office for one year; and
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 185
the oilier of such Councilmen elected al such first general city election
shall hold office for two years, beginning with the first Monday in
May of thai year: a Mayor and four Councilmen shall 1h> elected in
ities having a population of twenty-five thousand or more; and the
Mayor elected at such first general city election shall hold office for
two years. Two of the Councilmen elected at such first general city
election shall hold office for one year, and the other two of the Council-
nien elected at such first general city election shall hold office for two
years, beginning with the first Monday in May of that year: and the
terms of office of the Mayor and all Councilmen thereafter elected
shall be two years.
The Councilmen elected at the first general city election shall de-
cide by lot, in such manner as they may select, which thereof shall
hold the office of Councilman the term of which expires one year there-
after, and which thereof shall hold the office of Councilman the term
of which expires two years thereafter.
Section 5377. Candidates to be voted for at all general municipal
elections at which a Mayor or Councilman are to be elected under the
provisions of this Act shall be nominated by a primary election, and
no other names shall be placed upon the general ballot except those
selected in the manner hereinafter prescribed. The primary election for
such nominations shall be held on the second Monday preceding the
municipal election. The judges of election appointed for the municipal
election shall be the judges of the primary election, and it shall be
held at the same place as far as possible, and the polls shall be opened
and closed at the same hours, with the same clerks as are required for
said general municipal election. Any qualified elector of said city who
is the owner of any real estate situated therein, desiring to become
a candidate for Mayor or Councilman, shall, at least ten days prior to
said primary election, file with the City Clerk a statement of such
candidacy in substantially the following form :
State of Montana. County of.... ...ss.
I, being first duly sworn
say that I reside at street.
City of County of , State
of Montana; that I am a qualified voter therein: that I am a candi-
date for nomination to the office of (Mayor or Councilman) to be
voted upon at the primary election to be held on the
Monday of , ID , and I hereby request that my name
be printed upon the official primary ballot for nomination by such pri-
mary election for such office.
(Signed)
Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me by
on this day of , 19
(Signed)
And shall at the same time file therewith the petition of at least
twenty-five qualified voters requesting such candidacy. Each petition
shall be verified by one or more persons as to qualifications and resi-
186 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
dence, with street number, of eacb of the persons so signing the said
petition, and the said petition shall l>e in substantially the following
form :
Petition Accompanying Nominating Statement.
The undersigned, duly qualified electors of the City of
and residing at the places set opposite our respective names hereto,
do hereby request that the name of (name of candidate) be placed on
the ballot as a candidate for nomination for (name of office) at the
primary election to l>e held in such city on the
Monday of , 19 We further state that we
know him to he a qualified elector of said city and a man of good
moral character, and qualified, in our judgment, for the duties of such
office.
Names of Qualifying Electors. Number Street.
Each signer of a nomination paper shall sign but one such nomi-
nation paper for the same office, except where more than one officer
is to be elected to the same office, in which case he may sign as many
nomination papers as there are officers to be elected, and only one can-
didate shall be petitioned for or nominated in the same nomination
papers.
Immediately upon the expiration of the time of filing the state-
ments and petitions for candidates, the said City Clerk shall cause to
be published for three consecutive days in all the daily newspapers
published in the city, in proper form, the names of the persons as
they are to appear upon the primary ballots, and if there be no daily
newspaper, then in two issues of any other newspapers that may be
published in said city; and the said clerk shall thereupon cause the
primary ballots to he printed, authenticated with a facsimile of his
Bignature. Upon the said ballot the names of the candidates for Mayor,
arranged alphabetically, shall first be placed, with a square at the left
of each name, anil immediately below the words, "Vote for one." Follow-
ing these names, likewise arranged in alphabetical order, shall appear
the names of the candidates for Councilmen, with a square at the left
of each name ami below the names of such candidates shall appear the
words, "Vote for (giving the number of persons to be voted for)." The
ballots shall be printed upon plain, substantial, white paper, and shall
be headed :
Candidates for Nomination for -Mayor and Councilmen
of the City of at the
Primary Election;
but shall have no party designation or mark whatever. The ballots
shall be in substantially the following form:
(Place a cross in the square preceding the names of the parties
you favor as candidates for the respective positions).
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 187
Official Primary Ballot.
Candidates for Nomination for .Mayor and Councilmen
of the City of at the
Primary Election ;
For Mayor.
(Name of Candidate.)
(Vote for one.)
For Councilman.
(Name of Candidate.)
(Vote for ) (giving number to be voted for.)
Official Ballot Attest:
( Signature)
. City Clerk.
Having caused said ballots to be printed, the said City Clerk shall
cause to be delivered at each polling place a number of said ballots
equal to twice the number of such voters registered in such polling
place at the last general municipal election. The persons who are quali-
fied to vote at the general election shall be qualified to vote at such
primary election and any person offering to vote may be orally chal-
lenged by any elector of the city upon any or all of the grounds set
forth and specified in Section 706 of this Code, and the provisions of
Sections 707 to 714, inclusive, of this Code, and shall apply to all chal-
lenges made at such election. Judges of election shall immediately upon
the closing of the polls count the ballots and ascertain the number of
votes cast in such precinct for each of the candidates for Mayor and
Councilmen and make return thereof to the City Clerk upon the proper
blanks to be furnished by the City Clerk within six hours of the closing
of the polls. On the day following the primary election the City Clerk
shall canvass said returns so received from all the polling precincts,
and shall make and publish in all the newspapers in said city, at least
once, the result thereof. Said canvass by the City Clerk shall be pub-
licly made. If a Mayor is to be elected at such municipal election,
the two persons receiving the highest number of votes shall be the
candidates for Mayor. If one Councilman is to be elected at such
municipal election, the two persons receiving the highest number of
votes shall be the candidates for Councilmen. If two Councilmen
are to be elected at such general municipal election, the four persons
receiving the highest number of votes shall be the candidates for Coun-
cilmen, and if three Councilmen are to be elected at such municipal
election, the six persons receiving the highest number of votes shall
be the candidates for Councilmen, and if four Councilmen are to be
elected at such general municipal election, the eight persons receiving
the highest number of votes shall be candidates for Councilmen at
such general election, and these shall be the only candidates for Mayor
and Councilmen at such general election.
All electors of cities under this Act, who, by ordinances governing
cities incorporated under the general municipal incorporation law, or
188 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
by charter, would be entitled to vote for the election of officers at anj
general municipal elect inn in such cities, shall be qualified to vote at
iill elections under this Act; and the ballots to be used at such general
municipal election shall be in the same general form as for sueb pri-
mary elections so far as applicable, and in all elections in such cities
the election precincts, voting places, method of conducting the elections,
canvassing of votes and announcing the results shall be the same as
by liiw provided for the election of officers in such cities so far as the
same are applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.
Every person who has been declared elected Mayor or Councilman,
shall, within ten days thereafter, take and file with the City Clerk his
oath of office in the form and manner provided by law. and shall exe-
cute and give sufficient bond to the municipal corporation, in the sum
of Ten Thousand Dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of
the duties of his office, which bond shall be approved by the Judge
Of the District Court of the county in which such city is situated, and
filed with the Clerk and Recorder of the county in which such city
is situated.
Section 5378. Any person who shall agree to perform any services
in the interest of any candidate for any office provided in this Act,
in consideration of any money or other valuable thing for such serv-
ices performed in the interest of any candidate, shall be punished by
a fine not exceeding Three Hundred Dollars or be imprisoned in the
county jail not exceeding thirty days.
Section 5379. Any person offering to give a bribe either in money
or other consideration, to any elector, for the purpose of influencing
his vote at any election provided in this Act. or any elector entitled
to vote at any such election receiving and accepting such bribe or other
consideration ; any person who agrees, by promise or written statement
that lie will do. or will not do. any particular act or acts, for the pur-
pose of influencing the vote of any elector or electors at any election
provided in this Ad : any person making false answer to any of the
provisions of this Act relative to his qualifications to vote at such
election; any person wilfully voting or offering to vote at such elec-
tion who has not been a resident of this state for one year next pre-
ceding said election, or who is not twenty-one years of age. or is not a
citizen of the United States, or knowing himself not to be a qualified
elector of such precinct where he offers to vote; any person knowingly
procuring, aiding, or abetting any violation hereof ; shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction shall be fined in a sum
not less than One Hundred Dollars nor more than Five Hundred
Dollars; and be imprisoned in the county jail not less than ten nor
more than ninety days.
(Sections 5380-5387, inclusive, bearing on Powers and Duties of
Council, omitted.)
Section 6388. Every ordinance or resolution appropriating money
or ordering any street Improvement or sewer, or making or authorizing
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA 189
the making of any contract, or granting any franchise or right to
occupy or use the streets, highways, bridges, <>r public places In the
city for any purpose, shall iw> complete In the form In which it is
finally passed, and remain on file with the City Clerk for public in-
spection at least one week before the final passage or adoption thereof.
No franchise or right to occupy or use the streets, highways, bridges,
or public places in any such city shall he granted, renewed, or extended,
except by ordinance, and every franchise or grant for interurhan or
street railways, gas. or water-works, electric light, or power plant,
heating plant, telegraph or telephone systems, or other public service
utilities, or renewal or extension of any such franchise or grant within
such city, must be authorized or approved by a majority of the electors
voting thereon at a general or special election, as provided in Sections
5075. 5076. and 5077 of this Code.
(Sections 5389-53! )?>. inclusive, relating to Powers and Duties of
Council, omitted.)
Section 5304. The holder of any elective office may be removed at
any time by the electors qualified to vote for a successor of such in-
cumbent. The procedure to effect the removal of an incumbent of an
elective office shall be as follows : A petition signed by twenty-five
per cent of all qualified electors registered for the last preceding general
municipal election, demanding an election of a successor of the person
sought to be removed, shall l>e filed with the City Clerk, which petition
shall contain a general statement of the grounds for which the removal
is sought. The signatures to the petition need not be appended to one
paper, but each signer shall add to his signature his place of residence,
giving the street and number. One of the signers of such paper shall
make oath before an officer competent to administer oaths that the state-
ments therein are true as he believes, and that each signature to the
paper appended is the genuine signature of the person whose name it
purports to be. Within ten days from the date of filing such petition
the City Clerk shall examine, and from the voters' register ascertain
whether or not said petition is signed by the requisite number of quali-
fied electors, and. if necessary, the Council shall allow him extra help
for that purpose; and he shall attach to said petition his certificate,
showing the result of said examination. If, by the clerk's certificate,
the petition is shown to he insufficient, it may be amended within ten
days from the date of said certificate. The clerk shall, within ten days
after such amendment, make like examination of the amended petition,
and if his certificate shall show the same to be insufficient, it shall be
returned to the person filing the same: without prejudice, however, to
the filing of a new petition to the same effect. If the petition shall be
deemed to be sufficient, the clerk shall submit the same to the Council
without delay. If the petition shall be found to be sufficient, the Coun-
cil shall order and fix a date for holding said election, not less than
seventy days nor more than eighty days from the date of the Clerk's
certificate to the Council that a sufficient petition is filed.
The Council shall make, or cause to be made, publication of notice
and all arrangements for holding such election, and the same shall be
190 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
conducted, returned, and the result thereof declared, in all respects as
are other ('lections.
As far as applicable, except as otherwise' herein provided, nominations
hereunder shall be made without the intervention of a primary election
by filing with the clerk, at least ten days prior to said special elec
tion, a statement of candidacy accompanied by a petition signed by
electors entitled to a vote at said special election, equal in number to
at least ten per cent of the entire number of persons, registered to
vote at the last preceding general municipal election, which said state-
ment of candidacy and petition shall be substantially in the form set
out in Section 5377 of this Code, so far as the same is applicable, sub-
stituting the word "special" for the word "primary" in such statement
and petition, and stating therein that such person is a candidate for
election instead of nomination. The ballot for such special election
shall lx> in substantially the following form :
Official Ballot.
Special election for the balance of the unexpired term of...
as for
(Vote for one only.)
(Name of candidate.)
Name of present incumbent.
Official ballot attest.
(Signature)
City Clerk.
The successor of any officer so removed shall hold office during
the unexpired term of his predecessor. Any person sought to be re-
moved may be a candidate to succeed himself, and unless he requests
otherwise in writing, the clerk shall place his name on the official ballot
without nomination. In any such removal election, the candidate receiv-
ing the highest number of votes shall be declared elected. At such elec-
tion, if some other person than the incumbent receives the highest num-
ber of votes, the incumbent shall thereupon he deemed removed from
the office upon the qualification of his successor. In case the party
who receives the highest Dumber of votes should fail to qualify within
ten days after receiving notification of the election, the office shall be
deemed vacant. If the incumbent receives the highest number of votes.
he shall continue in office. The said method of removal shall be cumu-
lative, and additional to the methods heretofore provided by law.
Section ~i'.'M7>. Any proposed ordinance may be submitted to the
Council by petition signed by electors of the city equal in number to
the percentage hereinafter required. The signature, verification, inspec-
tion, certification, amendment, and submisson of such petition shall be
the same as provided for petition under the preceding section. If the
petition accompanying the proposed ordinance be signed by electors
equal in number to twenty-five per centum of the entii'e number of
persons registered to vote at the last preceding general election, and
contains a request that the said ordinance be submitted to a vote of
the people, if not passed by the Council, such Council shall either:
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 191
(a) Pass each ordinance without alteration within twenty days
after the attachment of the clerk's certificate to the accompanying pe-
tition: or.
(b) Forthwith, after the Clerk shall attach to the petition accom-
panying such ordinance his certificate of sufficiency, the Council shall
call a special election, unless a general municipal election is fixed by
law within thirty days thereafter, and at such special or general muni-
cipal election, if one is so fixed, such ordinance shall he submitted to
the vote of the electors of such city.
But if the petition is signed by not less than ten nor more than
twenty-five per centum of the electors, as above defined, then the
Council shall, within twenty days, pass said ordinance without change,
or submit the same at the next general city election occurring after the
clerk's certificate of sufficiency is attached to said petition.
The ballots used when voting upon said ordinance shall contain
these words: "For the ordinance" (stating the nature of the proposed
ordinance), and "Against the ordinance" (stating the nature of the pro-
posed ordinance). If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the
proposed ordinance shall vote in favor thereof, such ordinance shall
thereupon become a valid and binding ordinance of the city : and any
ordinance proposed by the petition of which shall be adopted by a vote
of the people cannot be repealed or amended except by a vote of the
people.
Any number of proposed ordinances may be voted upon at the same
election, in accordance with the provisions of this section : but there
shall not be more than one special election in any period of six months
for such purposes.
The Council may submit a proposition for the repeal of any such
ordinance, or for amendments thereto, to be voted upon at any suc-
ceeding general city election : and should such proposition so submitted
receive a majority of the votes cast thereon at such election, such
ordinance shall thereby be repealed or amended accordingly. When-
ever any ordinance or proposition is required by this Act to be sub-
mitted to the voters of the city at any election, the City Clerk shall
cause such ordinance or proposition to be published once in each of
the daily newspapers published in such city, and if there be none, then
one time in each weekly newspaper published therein: such publication
to be not more than twenty nor less than five days before the submis-
sion of such proposition or ordinance to be voted on.
Section 5396. No ordinance passed by the Council, except when
otherwise required by the general laws of this state or the provisions
of this Act, except an ordinance for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, or safety, which contains a statement of its urg-
ency, and is passed by a two-thirds vote of the Council, shall go into
effect before ten days from the time of its final passage; and if, dur-
ing said ten days, a petition signed by electors of the city equal in
number to at least twenty-five per centum of the entire number of
persons registered to vote at the last preceding general municipal elec-
tion, protesting against the passage of such ordinance, be presented to
192 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
the Council, the same shall thereupon be suspended from going into
operation, and ir shall be the fluty of the Council t<> reconsider such
ordinance; and if the same is nol entirely repealed, the Council shall
submit the ordinance, as is provided by Subdivision (b) of the preceding
section, to the vote of the electors of the city either at a general elec-
tion or at a special municipal election to he called for that purpose;
and such ordinance shall not go into effect or become operative unless
a majority of the Qualified electors voting on the same shall vote in
Eavor thereof. Said petition shall he in all respects in accordance with
the provisions of the preceding section, except as to the percentage of
signers, and he examined and certified to by the clerk in all resects
as therein provided.
Section oTtOT. Any city which shall have operated for more than
one year under the provisions of this Act may abandon such organi-
zation hereunder and accept the provisions of the general law of the
state then applicable to cities of its population.
Upon the petition of not less than twenty-five per cent of the
electors of such city registered for the last preceding general election
a special election shall he called, at which the following proposition
only shall ho submitted:
"Shall the city of (name the city) abandon its organization under
Chapter .17 of the Acts of the Twelfth Legislative Assembly and he-
come a city under the general law governing cities of like population;
or if formerly organized under special charter shall resume said special
charter?"
If the majority of the votes cast at such special election he in
favor of such proposition, the officers elected at the next succeeding
biennial election shall he those then prescribed by the general law of
the stale for cities of like population, and upon the qualification of
such officers such city shall become a city under such general law of
the state, hut such change shall not in any manner or degree affect
the property, rights, or liabilities of any nature of such city, but shall
merely extend to each change in its form of government.
The sufficiency of such petition shall he determined, the election
ordered and conducted, anil the results declared, generally as provided
lor by Section .">.".!>! of this Code, insofar as the provisions thereof
are applicable; Or if now organized under special charter, may resume
said special charter. Whenever the form of government of any city is
determined by a vote of the people under the provisions of this sec-
tion, the same question shall not he submitted again for a period of
two years, and any ordinance adopted by a vote of the people shall
not he repealed or the same question submitted for a period of two
years.
Section 6398. Petition provided lor in this Act shall he signed by
none hut legal voters of the city. Each petition shall contain, in ad-
dition to the names of the petitioners, the street and house number
in which the petitioner resides, his age. and length of residence in the
city. It shall also he accompanied by the affidavit of one or more legal
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 193
voters of the city, stating that the signers thereof were, at the time
of signing, legal voters of said city, and the number of signers at the
time the affidavit was made.
Section 5390. All Acts and parts of Acts, and all laws, not incon-
sistent with any of the provisions of this Act. now in force or here-
after enacted relative to municipal corporations, are hereby continued
in full force and effect, and shall he considered and construed as not
repealed by this Act. except insofar as the same may he in conflict or
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.
CHAPTER 137
An Act Providing for the Payment of Filing Fees hy Candidates for
Mayor and Councilmen in Cities Operating Under the Commission
Form of Government.
Be It Enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Montana:
Section 1. Every candidate for Mayor and every candidate for
Councilman in cities opera tins under the commission form of govern-
ment shall, at the time of filing his nominating petition pay the fol-
lowing fees to the City Clerk as filing fee: A candidate for Mayor
shall pay Twenty Dollars ($20.00), and a candidate for Councilman
shall pay Fifteen Dollars ($15.00).
Section 2. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and
after its passage and approval.
Approved March 14, 1933.
COMMISSION-MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT
FOR CITIES AND TOWNS
Section ."V400. Any municipality may abandon its organization and
reorganize under the provisions of this Act, by proceeding as herein-
after provided.
Section 5401. Upon a petition being filed with the City or Town
Council, signed by not less than twenty-five per cent of the qualified
electors of such municipality registered for the last preceding general
municipal election, praying that the question of reorganization under
this Act be submitted to the qualified electors of such municipality,
said City or Town Council shall thereupon, and within thirty days
thereafter, order a special election to lie held, at which election the
question of reorganization of such municipality under the provisions
of this Act shall be submitted to the qualified electors of such munici-
pality.
Such order of the City or Town Council shall specify therein the
time when such election shall be held, which must be within ninety
days from the date of filing such petition.
Section 5402. Upon the City or Town Council ordering such special
election to be held, the Mayor of such municipality shall issue a proc-
lamation setting forth the purpose for which such special election is
194 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
hold, and the date of holding such special election, which proclamation
shall be published for ten consecutive days in each daily newspaper
published In said municipality, if there be such, otherwise once a week
for two consecutive weeks in each weekly newspaper published therein,
and such proclamation shall also be posted in at least five public places
within such municipality.
Section 5403. At such election, the ballots to be used shall be
printed on plain white paper, and shall be headed "Special election
for the purpose of submitting to the qualified electors of (city, town)
of (name of city or town) under Chapter (name of chapter containing
this Act) of the Acts of the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly," and shall
be substantially in the following form :
For reorganization of the (city, town) of (name of city or town)
under Chapter (name of chapter containing this Act) of the Acts of
the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly.
Against reorganization of the (city, town) of (name of city or
town) under Chapter (name of chapter containing this Act) of the
Acts of the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly.
Such election shall be conducted ami vote canvassed and result
declared in the same manner as provided by law in respect to other
municipal elections.
Section 5404. If such proposition is adopted, the Mayor shall
transmit to the Governor, to the Secretary of State and to the County
Clerk and Recorder, each, a certificate stating that such proposition
was adopted.
If such proposition shall not be adopted at such special election.
such proposition shall not again be submitted to the electors of such
municipality within a period of two years from the date of the last
submission. As amended by Chapter 31, Laws of 1023.
Section 5405. If the majority of the votes east at such election
shall be in favor of such proposition, the City or Town Council must
bold a meeting within one week thereafter and at such meeting order
a special election to be held for the purpose of electing the number of
Commissioners to which such municipality shall be entitled, which order
shall specify the time of holding such election, which must l>e within
ninety days after the making of such order, and the Mayor shall there-
upon issue a proclamation setting forth the purpose for which such
special election is held and the day of holding the same, which procla-
mation shall be published for ten successive days in each daily news-
paper published in such municipality if there be such, otherwise for
two successive weeks in each weekly newspaper published therein, and
;i copy thereof shall also be posted at each voting place within said
municipality and also in five of the most public places in said munici-
pality. As amended by Chapter 31, Laws of 1023.
Section 5406. Such election shall be conducted, the vote canvassed
and the result declared in the same manner as provided by law in re-
spect to other municipal elections.
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 195
Section 5407. All laws governing municipalities of like population,
and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, shall apply to and
govern municipalities organized under this Act. All by-laws, ordinances,
and resolutions lawfully passed and in force in any such municipality
under its organization, not in conflict herewith, shall remain in force
until altered or repealed by the Commission under the provisions of
this Act. The territorial limits of such municipality shall remain the
same as under the former organization, and all rights and property of
every description which were vested in any such municipality Tinder
its former organization shall vest in the same under the organization
herein contemplated, and no right or liability either in favor of or
against it. existing at the time, and no suit or prosecution of any kind,
shall be affected by such change, unless otherwise provided for in
this Act.
Section 5408. Whenever the inhabitants of any community or group
of communities in any county, whether separately incorpoi-ated in
whole or in part, or unincorporated, which are situated in such prox-
imity or location with reference to each other as to make single muni-
cipal control necessary or desirable, shall desire to be organized into
or annexed to an incorporated city or town under the provisions of this
Act, the Board of County Commissioners of such county may, or upon
the presentation of a petition signed by not less than twenty-five per
cent of the qualified electors in such community or group of communi-
ties, must issue a proclamation ordering a special election to be held,
at which election the question of the organization of such community
or group of communities as a municipality under the provisions of this
Act shall be submitted to the qualified electors within the proposed
municipal district. Said proclamation shall specify the time when and
the places where such election shall be held, which must be within
ninety days from the date of filing such petition, and shall define the
boundaries of said proposed municipal district, which shall include all
such communities and cities, and such additional adjacent territory
as shall, in the judgment of the Board of County Commissioners, pro-
vide for future urban growth.
If a majority of the legal voters at said election vote in favor of
the organization of such municipal district, or in favor of annexation
to an incorporated city or town, then the Board of County Commis-
sioners shall declare the result of said elections, and immediately there-
after shall give notice for thirty days in a newspaper published within
the proposed municipal district, or if none be published therein, by
posting notices in six public places within the limits of said district of
the time and place or places of holding the first election for Commis-
sioners of such municipal district under this law. At such election all
electors qualified by the general election laws of the state who have
resided within the limits of the municipal district for six months are
qualified electors. The Board of County Commissioners must appoint
judges and clerks of election, and canvass and declare the result
thereof. The election must be conducted in the manner prescribed by
196 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
law for the election of county officers, and the Commissioners so elected
must qualify in the manner prescribed by law for county officers.
Section r>409. The inhabitants of any municipality, coming under
the provisions of this Act. as its limits now are. or may hereafter be.
shall be a body politic and corporate and have a corporate name, and
as such shall have perpetual succession, and may use a corporate seal.
Through its duly elected officers, it may sue and be sued; may acquire
property in fee simple or lesser interest, or estate by purchase, gift,
devise, appropriation, lease, or lease with the privilege to purchase for
any municipal purpose ; may sell, lease, hold, manage, and control such
property, and make any and all rules and regulations by ordinance or
resolution which may be required to carry out fully all provisions of
any conveyance, deed, or will, in relation to any gift or bequest, or
the provisions of any lease by which it may acquire property : may
acquire, construct, own. lease, and operate and regulate public utilities :
may assess, levy, and collect taxes for general and special purposes on
all the subjects or objects which the municipality may lawfully tax :
may borrow money on the faith and credit of the municipality by
the issue or sale of bonds or notes of the municipality ; may appro-
priate money of the municipality for all lawful purposes, may create,
provide for, construct, regulate and maintain all things of nature of
public works and improvements; may levy and collect assessments for
improvement districts and other local improvements : may license and
regulate persons, corporations, and associations engaged in any busi-
ness, occupation, profession, or trade; may define, prohibit, abate, Sup-
press, and prevent all things detrimental to the health, morals, comfort,
safety, convenience, and welfare of the inhabitants of the municipality,
and all nuisances and the causes thereof; may regulate the construc-
tion, height, and the material used in all buildings, and the maintenance
and occupancy thereof; may regulate and control the use. for what-
ever purpose, of the streets and other public places; may create, estab-
lish, abolish, and organize offices, and fix the salaries and compensa-
tions of all officers and employees; may make and enforce local sani-
tary and police and other regulations: and may pass such ordinances
as may be expedient for maintaining and promoting peace, good govern-
ment, and welfare of the municipality, and for the performance of
the functions thereof. The municipality shall have all powers that now
are or hereafter may lie granted to municipalities by the constitution
or laws of .Montana ; and all such powers, whether expressed or implied,
Shall be exercised and enforced in the manner prescribed by this Act.
or when not prescribed therein, in such manner as shall be prescribed
by the ordinances or resolutions of the Commission.
Section 5410. The form of government provided for in this Act
shall be known as the "Commission-Manager Plan," and shall consist
of a Commission of citizens, who shall be elected at large in the manner
hereinafter provided. The Commission shall consist of three Commis-
sioners for all municipalities having a population less than twenty-
five thousand and five Commissioners for all cities having a population
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 197
of twenty-five thousand or more. The Commission shall constitute the
governing body, with powers ;is hereinafter provided, to pass ordinances,
adopt regulations, and appoint a chief administrative officer to be knows
as the "City Manager," and exercise all powers as hereinafter provided.
Section 5411. The Commissioners elected at the first election shall
qualify and their terms of office shall begin on the first Monday after
their election, and the terms of office of the Mayor and Councilmen
or Aldermen in such city or town in office at the beginning of the
term of office of the Commissioners first elected under the provisions
of this Act shall cease and terminate, and the terms of office of all
their appointed officers, and of all of the employees of such city or
town, shall cease and terminate as soon as the Commissioners shall by
resolution declare.
All Commissioners shall serve for a term of four years and until
their successors are elected and have qualified ; except that at the first
election the two candidates having the highest number of votes shall
hold office for a period of four years, less the time elapsed since the
31st day of December of the odd numbered year last preceding. The
terms of office of all other candidates shall expire on the 31st day
of December in any odd numbered year following the special election
provided for in this Act, at which the first Commissioners are elected.
If any city or town, having adopted the plan of government pro-
vided for by this Act in the year 1921, shall have held no election to
fill the vacancy caused by the expiration of the term of the Commis-
sioner whose term of office expired on the first day of January. 1922,
then at the election held in such city or town in November, 1923, there
shall be elected three Commissioners. The term of office of the Commis-
sioner elected by the smallest number of votes at such election shall
expire on the 31st day of December, 1925, and the terms of the other
two shall expire on the 31st day of December, 1927. As amended by
Chapter 31, Laws of 1923.
Section 5412. Vacancies in the Commission shall be filled by the
Commission for the remainder of the unexpired term, but any vacancy
resulting from a recall shall be filled in the manner provided in such
case.
Section 5413. Members of the Commission shall be residents of
the city or town and have the qualifications of electors, and own real
estate situated therein to the assessed value of not less than one
thousand dollars. Commissioners and other officrs and employees
shall not hold any other public office or employment, except in the
State Militia, as School Trustees, or Notary Publics, and shall not be
interested in the profits or emoluments of any contract, 'job, work, or
service for the municipality. Any Commissioner who shall cease to pos-
sess any of the qualifications herein required, shall forthwith forfeit his
office, and any such contract in which any member is or may be in-
terested, may be declared void by the Commission.
No Commissioner or other officer or employee of said city or town
shall accept any frank, free ticket, pass or service directly or indi-
198 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
rectly, from any person, firm or corporation upon terms more favorable
than are granted to the public generally. Any violation of the provisions
of this section shall be a misdemeanor and shall also be sufficient cause
for the summary removal or discharge of the offender. Such provisions
for free service shall not apply to policemen or firemen in uniform or
wearing their official badges, where the same is provided by ordinance,
nor any Commissioner, nor to the City Manager, nor to the City At-
torney, upon official business, nor to any other employee or official
of said city on official business who exhibits written authority signed
by the City Manager. As amended by Chapter 31, Laws of 1023.
Section 5414. Candidates to be voted for at all general municipal
elections at which Commissioners are to be elected under the provisions
of this Act shall be nominated by a primary election, and no other
names shall be placed upon the general ballot except those selected in
the manner hereinafter prescribed. The primary election for such nomi-
nations shall be held on the last Tuesday of August of the odd-num-
bered years.
Any qualified elector of the municipality, who is the owner of real
estate situated therein to the value of not less than one thousand dol-
lars, desiring to become a candidate for Commissioner, shall, at least
ten days prior to said primary election, file with the Clerk of the Com-
mission a statement of such candidacy in substantially the following
form :
State of Montana, County of ss.
I , being first duly sworn, say that I reside
at..'. street (city, town) of
County of State of Montana ; that I am a qualified
voter therein; that I am a candidate for nomination to the office of
Commissioner to be voted upon at the primary election to be held on
the last Tuesday of August, If) and I hereby request that my
name be printed upon the official primary ballot for nomination by
such primary election for such office.
(Signed)
Subscribed and sworn to (or. affirmed) before me by
on this day of , 19
(Signed)
And shall at the same time file therewith the petition of at least
twenty-five qualified voters requesting such candidacy. Each petition
shall be verified by one or more persons as to qualifications and resi-
dence, with street number, of each of the persons so signing the said
petition, and the said petition shall be in substantially the following
form :
Petition Accompanying Nominating Statement.
The undersigned duly qualified electors of the (city, town) of
, and residing at the places set opposite our respective
names hereto, do hereby request that the name of (name of candidate)
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 199
be placed on the hallo! as a candidate for nomination to the office of
Commissioner at the primary election to bo hold on the last Tuesday of
August, 19 We further state that we know him to be a Qualified
elector of said (city, town), and a man of good moral character, and
qualified, in our judgment, for the duties of such office, and we indi-
vidually certify that we have not signed similar petitions greater in
number than the number of Commissioners to be chosen at the next
general municipal election.
Names of Qualifying Electors. Numlier Street.
(Space for Signatures.)
State of Montana. County of ss.
, being duly sworn, deposes and says,
that he knows the qualifications and residence of each of the persons
signing the appended petition, and that such signatures are genuine,
and the signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be.
(Signed)
Subscribed and sworn to before me this das* of
, 19
Notary Public.
This petition, if found insufficient, shall be returned to
at No Street, , Montana.
Immediately upon the expiration of the time of filing the state-
ments and petition for candidates, the Clerk of the Commission shall
cause to be published for three consecutive days in all the daily news-
papers published in the municipality in proper form, the names of the
persons that are to appear upon the primary ballots, and if there he
no daily newspaper, then in two issues of any other newspaper that
may be published in said municipality, and the said clerk shall there-
upon cause the primary ballots to be printed, and authenticated with
a facsimile of his signature.
Section 5415. All ballots used in all elections held under authority
of this Act shall he without party mark or designation. The ballots
shall be printed on plain, substantial white paper.
Except that the crosses here shown shall be omitted, and that in
place of the names of persons here shown, there shall appear the
names of the persons who are candidates for nomination, the primary
ballots shall be substantially as hereinafter designated. Primary, regu-
lar and special election ballots provided under authority of this Act for
the nomination or election of (Commissioners shall not bear the name
of any person or persons or any issue other than those of candidates
for the nomination or election to the office of Commissioner.
Official Primary Ballot.
Vote for (here insert a number equal to the number of persons to
be elected to the office of Commissioner at the next regular municipal
election).
200 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
If you wrongly mark, tear or deface this ballot, return il and
obtain another.
Candidates for nomination to the office of Commissioner at the
primary election.
John Doe
Henry Smith
George Jones
James Richards
Richard Doe
Official Ballot Attest:
(Signature)
Clerk of the Commission.
Having caused said ballots to he printed, the Clerk of the Commis-
sion shall cause to be delivered at each polling place a number of said
ballots ten per cent in excess of the number of such voters registered
in such polling place at the last general municipal election. The persons
who are qualified to vote at the general election shall be qualified to
vote at such primary election, and any person offering to vote may
be orally challenged by any elector of the municipality upon any or all
grounds set forth and specified in Section KM! of the Revised Codes of
Montana of 1921, and the provisions of Sections 707, 70S, 709, 710, 711,
712, 713 and 714 of the Revised Codes of Montana, 1921, shall apply at
all challenges made at such election. Judges of election shall immediately
upon the closing of the polls count the ballots and ascertain the number
of such votes cast in such precinct for each of the candidates, and
make return thereof to the Clerk of the Commission upon proper blanks
to be furnished by the Clerk of the Commission within twelve hours of
the closing of the polls. Not later than the first legal day after he
shall have received such returns, the Clerk of the Commission shall
canvass said returns so received from all the polling precincts and shall
make and publish in all the newspapers in said municipality, at least
once, the result thereof. Said canvass by the Clerk of the Commission
shall be made publicly.
The candidates for nomination to the office of Commissioner who
shall have received the greatest vote in such primary election shall be
placed on the ballot at the next regular municipal election, in number
not to exceed double the number of vacancies in the Commission to
be filled.
Except as otherwise in this Act provided, all electors of municipali-
ties under this Act. who, by ordinances governing cities and towns in-
corporated under the general municipal corporation law, or by charter,
would be entitled to vote for the election of officers at any general
municipal election in such cities or towns, shall be qualified to vote
at all elections under this Act; and the ballots to be used at such
general municipal elections shall be in the same general form as for
such primary election so far as applicable, and in all elections in such
municipalities, the election precincts, voting places, method of conduct-
ing the elections, canvassing of votes and announcing the results, shall
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 201
be the same as by law provided for the election of officers in such
cities or towns so far as the same arc applicable and not inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act. As amended by Chapter 31, Laws of
1923.
Section 5416. The names of candidates on all ballots used in any
election held under the authority of this Act shall be printed in rota-
tion, as follows :
The ballot shall be printed in as many series as there are candi-
dates for the office of Commissioner. The whole number of ballots
to be printed shall be divided by the number of series, and the quo-
tient so obtained shall be the number of ballots in each series. In
printing the first series of ballots, the names of candidates shall be
arranged in alphabetical order. After printing the first series, the
first name shall be placed last and the next series printed, and the
process shall be repeated until each name in the list shall have been
printed first an equal number of times. The ballots so printed shall
then be combined in tablets, so as to have the fewest possible ballots
having the same order of names printed thereon together in the same
tablet.
Section 5417. A regular election for the choice of Commissioners,
provided for in this Act, shall be held on the first Tuesday after the
first Monday in November of any odd-numbered year, and on the first
Tuesday after the first. Monday in November in each second year there-
after. Elections so held shall be known as regular municipal elections.
All other elections held under the provisions of this Act, excepting those
for the nomination of candidates for the office of Commissioner, shall be
known as special municipal elections.
Section 541S. Every candidate for Commissioner shall, within thirty
(30) days after the election, file with the Clerk of the Commission his
sworn statement of all his election and campaign expenses, and by whom
such funds were contributed.
Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be a misde-
meanor, and if committed by a successful candidate, give ground for the
removal from office. As amended by Chapter 31, Laws of 1923.
Section 5419. Any or all of the Commissioners provided for in this
Act may be removed from office by the electors. The procedure to ef-
fect such removal, shall be as follows :
A petition demanding that the question of removing such officers
be submitted to the electors shall be filed with the Clerk of the Com-
mission.
Such petition for the recall of any or all of the Commissioners shall
be signed by at least twenty-five per cent of the total number of regis-
tered voters in the municipality.
The signatures to such petition need not be appended to any one
paper.
Section 5420. Petition papers shall be procured only from the Clerk
of the Commission, who shall keep a sufficient number of such blank
202 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
petitions on file for distribution as herein provided. Prior to the issu-
ance of such petition papers, an affidavit shall be made by one or
more qualified electors and filed with the Clerk of the Commission, stat-
ing the name and the office of the officer or officers sought to he re-
moved. The Clerk of the Commission upon issuing any such petition
papers to an elector, shall enter in a record, to be kept in his office, the
name of the elector to whom issued, the date of such issuance, and the
number of papers issued, and shall certify on such papers the name of
the elector to whom issued, and the date issued. No petition papers so
issued shall be accepted as part of the petition unless it bears such cer-
tificate of the Clerk of the Commission, and unless it be filed as pro-
vided herein.
Section 5421. Each signer of a recall petition shall sign his name
in ink or indelible pencil, and shall place thereon, after his name his
place of residence by street and number. To each such petition paper
there shall be attached an affidavit of the circulator thereof, stating
the number of signers to such part of the petition, and that each sig-
nature appended to the paper was made in his presence and is the
genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be.
Section 5422. All papers comprising a recall petition shall be as-
sembled and filed with the Clerk of the Commission as one instrument
within thirty days after the filing with the Clerk of the Commission of
the affidavit statins the name and the office of the officer sought to
be removed.
Section 542.'1 The Clerk of the Commission shall at once submit
the recall petition to the Commission, and shall notify the officer sought
In be recalled of such action. If the official whose removal is sought
does not resign within five days after such notice, the Commission
shall thereupon order and fix a day for holding a recall election. Any
such election shall lx> held not less than seventy nor more than eighty
days after the pot ii ion has been presented to the Commission, at the
same time as any other general or special election held within such
period : but if no such election be held within such period, the Com-
mission shall call a special election to be held within the time afore-
said.
Section 5424. The ballots at such recall election shall conform to
the following requirements:
With respeel to each person whose removal is sought, the ques-
tion shall he submitted, "Shall (name of person) be removed from the
office of (name of office) by recall?"
Immediately following each such question, there shall be printed
on the ballots the two propositions, in the order set forth:
"For the recall (name of person).
"Against the recall (name of person)."
Immediately to the left of the proposition shall he placed a square
in which the electors, by making a cross mark (X), may vote for
either of such propositions. Under said questions shall be placed the
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 203
names of candidates to fill the vacancy or vacancies. The name of the
Offfcer or officers whose removal La SOUghl shall not appear on the
ballot as a candidate or candidates to succeed himself or themselves
Before any such recall election for the removal of Commissioners
shall be had. there shall he nominated candidates to fill the vacancy
or vacancies, the nominations therefor to be made by petition, which
petition for each candidate shall be signed by at least twenty-five
registered electors, and shall be filed at least thirty days prior to the
date fixed for holding such recall election: and the form and require-
ments for said petition shall be the same as hereinbefore provided in
the case of primary nominations.
Section 5425. Should a majority of the votes cast at a recall elec-
tion be against the recall pf the officer named on the ballot, snob of-
ficer shall continue in the office for the remainder of his unexpired
term, subject to recall as before. If a majority of the votes cast at a
recall election shall be for the recall of the officer named on the ballot,
he shall, regardless of any technical defects in the recall petition, be
deemed removed from office.
Section 5426. No recall petition shall be filed against a Commis-
sioner within six months after he takes his office, nor, in case of an
officer reelected in a recall election, until six months after that election.
Section 5427. Any person who shall agree to perform any services
in the interest of any candidate for any office provided in this Act, in
consideration of any money or other valuable thing for such services
performed in the interest of any candidate, shall be punished by a fine
not exceeding Three Hundred Dollars, or be imprisoned in the county
jail not exceeding thirty days, or both such fine and imprisonment.
Section 542S. Any person offering to give a bribe, either in money
or other consideration, to any elector for the purpose of influencing
his vote at any election provided in this Act, or any elector entitled
to vote at any such election receiving and accepting such bribe or other
consideration ; any person who agrees, by promise or written statement,
that he will do, or will not do, any particular act or acts, for the
purpose of influencing the vote of any elector or electors at any elec-
tion provided in this Act ; any person making false answer to any of
the provisions of this Act relative to his qualifications to vote at such
election : any person wilfully voting or offering to vote at such election,
who has not been a resident of this state for one year next preceding
said election, or who is not twenty-one years of age, or is not a citizen
of the United States, or knowing himself not to be a qualified electer
of such pi-ecinct where he offers to vote ; any person knowingly procur-
ing, aiding, or abetting any violation hereof, shall be deemed guilty of
a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be fined a sum of not less
than One Hundred Dollars nor more than Five Hundred Dollars, or be
imprisoned in the county jail not less than ten nor more than ninety
days, or both such fine and imprisonment.
Section 5429. Any proposed ordinance may be submitted to the
204 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
Commission i>y petition signed by al least ten per cent of tho total
number <>f registered voters in the municipality. All petition papers
circulated with respect t<> any proposed ordinance shall be uniform in
character and shall contain the proposed ordinance in full, and have
printed or written thereon the names and addresses of at least five
electors who shall he officially regarded as filing the petition, and
shall constitute a committee of the petitioners for the purposes herein-
after named.
Section 5430. Each signer of a petition shall sign his name in ink
or indelible pencil, and shall place on the petition papers, after his
name, his place of residence by street and number. The signatures of
any such petition papers need not all be appended to one paper, but to
each such paper there shall be attached an, affidavit by the circulator
thereof, stating the number of signers to such part of the petition, and
that each signature appended to the paper is the genuine signature
of the person whose name it purports to be. and was made in the pres-
ence of the affiant.
Section 5431. All papers comprising a petition shall be assembled
and filed with the Clerk of the Commission as one instrument, and
when so filed, the Clerk of the Commission shall submit the proposed
ordinance to the Commission at its next regular meeting. Provision
shall be made for public hearings upon the proposed ordinances.
The Commission shall at once proceed to consider it, and shall
take final action thereon within thirty days from the date of submis-
sion. If the Commission rejects the proposed ordinance, or passes it in
a different form from that set forth in the petition, the committee of
the petitioners may require it to be submitted to a vote of the electors
in its original form, or that it be submitted to a vote of the electors
with any proposed change, addition, or amendment, if a petition for
such election is presented bearing additional signatures of fifteen per
cent of the electors of the city or town.
Section 5432. When an ordinance proposed by petition is to be sub-
mitted to a vote of the electors, the committee of the petitioners shall
certify that fact and the proposed ordinance to the Clerk of the Com-
mission within twenty days after the final action on such proposed or-
dinance by the Commission.
Section 5433. Upon receipt of the certificate and certified copy of
the proposed ordinance, the clerk shall certify the fact to the Commis-
sion at Its next regular meeting. If an election is to be held not more
than six months nor less than thirty days after the receipt of the clerk's
certificate by the Commission, such proposed ordinance shall then be
submitted to a vote of the electors. If no such election is to be held
within the time aforesaid, the Commission shall provide for submitting
the proposed ordinance to the electors at a special election.
Section 5434. The ballots used when voting upon any such pro-
posed ordinance shall state the title of the ordinance to be voted on,
and below it the two propositions, "For the ordinance," and "Against the
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 20o
ordinance." Immediately at the lfft of each proposition there shall be
a square, in which, by making a cross (X), the voter may vote for
or against the proposed ordinance. If a majority of the electors vot-
ing on any such proposed ordinance shall vote in favor thereof, it shall
thereupon become an ordinance of the municipality.
Section 5435. Proposed ordinances for repealing any existing or-
dinance or ordinances, in whole or in part, may be submitted to the
Commission as provided in the preceding section for initiating ordi-
nances. Initiated ordinances adopted by the electors shall be published
and may be amended or repealed by the Commission as in the case of
other ordinances.
Section 5436. No ordinance passed by the Commission, unless it be
an emergency measure, shall go into effect until thirty days after its
final passage by the Commission. If at any time within the said thirty
days, a petition signed by twenty-five per cent of the total number
of registered voters in the municipality be filed with the Clerk of the
Commission, requesting that any such ordinance be repealed or sub-
mitted to a vote of the electors, it shall not become operative until
the steps taken herein shall have been taken.
Section 5437. The Clerk of the Commission shall deliver the pe-
tition to the Commission, which shall proceed to reconsider the ordi-
nance. If, upon such reconsideration, the ordinance be not entirely re-
pealed, the Commission shall provide for submitting to a vote of the
electors, and in so doing, the Commission shall be governed by the
provisions herein contained, respecting the time of submission and manner
of voting on ordinances proposed to the Commission by petition. If.
when submitted to a vote of the electors, any such ordinance be not
approved by a majority of those voting thereon, it shall he deemed
repealed.
Section 5438. Referendum petitions need not contain the text of
the ordinance, the repeal of which is sought, hut shall be subject in
all other respects to the requirements for petitions submitting proposed
ordinances to the Commission. Ballots used in refei-endum elections shall
conform in all respects to those provided for in Section 5434 of this
Code.
Section 5439. Ordinances submitted to the Commission by initiative
petition and passed by the Commission without change, or passed in an
amended form and not required to be submitted to a vote of the elec-
tors by the committee of the petitioners, shall be subject to a referen-
dum in the same manner as other ordinances.
Section 5440. If the provisions of two or more ordinances adopted
or approved at the same election conflict, the ordinance receiving the
highest affirmative vote shall prevail.
Section 5441. Ordinances passed as emergency measures shall be
subject to a referendum in like manner as other ordinances, except
206 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
that they shall go into effect at the time indicated in such ordinances.
If. when submitted to a vote of the electors, an emergency measure be
not approved by a majority of those voting thereon, it shall be con-
sidered repealed as regards any further action thereunder : but sucb
measure so repealed shall be deemed sufficient authority for payment,
in accordance with the ordinance, of any expense incurred previous to
the referendum vote thereon.
Section 5442. In case a petition be filed requiring that a measure
passed by the Commission providing for an expenditure of money, a
bond issue, or a public improvement be submitted to a vote of the
electors, all steps preliminary to such expenditure, actual issuance of
the bonds, or actual execution of the contract for such improvement,
may be taken prior to the election; and at such election only resident
taxpayers of such city or towns whose names as such appear upon the
assessment roll and who are also qualified electors of said city or
town, shall be entitled to vote at such election. And at any and all
elections in such city or town at which questions relating to bond issues.
tax levies, or the expenditure of money shall be submitted, no person
shall be entitled to vote unless qualified as in this section provided.
As amended by Chapter 31, Laws of 1923.
Section 5443. Every person who has been declared elected Commis-
sioner, shall within ten (10) days thereafter take and file with the
Clerk of the Commission his oath of office in the form and manner pro-
vided by law, and shall execute and give sufficient bond to the munici-
pal corporation in such sum as the Judge of the District Court of the
county in which such municipality is situated, not, however, exceeding
.$5000.00 for Commissioners in cities of the first class and $3000.00 for
Commissioners in all other cities and towns, conditioned for the faithful
performance of the duties of his office, which bond shall he filed with
the Clerk and Recorder of the county in which such municipality is
situated. The premium on such bond as may be required, shall he paid
by the municipality. As amended by Chapter 31, Laws of 1023.
Section 5444. The Mayor shall be that member of the Commission
who, at the regular municipal election at which the Commissioners
were elected, received the highest number of votes. In case two candi-
dates receive the same number of votes, one of them shall be chosen
Mayor by the remaining members of the Commission. In event of a
vacancy in the office of the Mayor, by the expiration of his term of
office, the holdover Commissioner having received the highest number
of votes shall be the Mayor. In the event there is a vacancy in the
office of the Mayor for any other cause, the remaining members of
the Commission shall choose his successor for the unexpired term from
their own number by lot. The Mayor shall be the presiding officer,
except that in his absence, a president pro tempore may be chosen. The
Mayor shall exercise such powers conferred, and perform all duties im-
posed upon him by this Act, the ordinances of the municipality and the
iaws of the state, except that he shall have no power to veto any meas-
ure. He shall be recognized as the official head of the municipality by
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA 20 Y
the courts for the purpose of serving civil processes, by the governor
for the purposes of the military law, and for all ceremonial purposes.
As amended by Chapter 31. Laws of 1923.
Section 5445. in the event that the Commissioner who is acting as
Mayor shall be recalled, the remaining members of the Commission
shall select one of their num her to serve as Mayor for the unexpired
term. In the event of the recall of all the Commissioners, the person
receiving the highest number of votes at the election held to determine
their successor shall serve as the Mayor.
Section 544(5. In municipalities having three Commissioners, two
Commissioners shall constitute a quorum: and the affirmative vote
of two Commissioners shall be necessary to adopt or reject any mo-
tion, resolution, or ordinance, or pass any measure unless a greater
number is provided for in this Act. In municipalities having five Com-
missioners, three Commissioners shall constitute a quorum, and the
affirmative vote of three Commissioners shall he necessary to adopt or
reject any motion, resolution, or ordinance, or pass any measure unless
a greater number is provided for in this Act. Upon every vote, the ayes
and nays shall he called and recorded, and every motion, resolution, or
ordinance shall he reduced to writing and read before the vote is taken
thereon.
Section 5447. The salary of each Commissioner shall he as follows:
for each meeting attended, cities or towns with less than twenty-
five thousand inhabitants. Five Dollars : cities with more than
twenty-five thousand inhabitants, not to exceed Ten Dollars : provided,
that nor more than one fee shall be paid for any one day. The salary
of the Commissioner acting as Mayor shall be one and one-half times
that of the other Commissioners.
Section 5448. At ten o'clock A. M. on the first Monday after the
first day of January, following a regular municipal election, the Com-
mission shall meet at the usual place for holding the meetings of the
legislative body of the municipality, at which time the newly elected
Commissioners shall assume the duties of their office. Thereafter, the
Commissioners shall meet at such times as may be prescribed by ordi-
nance or resolution, except that in municipalities having less than five
thousand inhabitants, they shall meet regularly at least once and not
more than four times per month, and in municipalities having more
than five thousand inhabitants, they shall meet not less than once every
two weeks. Absence from five (5) consecutive regular meetings shall
operate to vacate the seat of a member, unless such absence be authorized
by the Commission.
The Commissioner acting as Mayor, any two members of the Com-
mission or the City Manager, may call special meetings of the Commis-
sion upon at least twelve (12) hours' written notice to each member
of the Commission, served personally on each member or left at his
usual place of residence. All meetings of the Commission shall be pub-
lic and any citizen shall have access to the minutes and records thereof
208 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
at all reasonable times. The Commission shall determine its own rules
and order of business and shall keep a journal of its proceedings. As
amended by Chapter 31, Laws of 1923.
(Sections 5449-5495, inclusive, bearing on Towers and Duties of
Commission, omitted.)
Section 5496. The Commission shall have all powers to grant rights
to occupy or use the streets, highways, bridges., or public places in
the municipality that now are. or hereafter may l>e granted to munici-
palities by the constitution or laws of Montana. Every ordinance or
resolution passed by the Commission granting the right to occupy or
use streets, highways, or public places of municipalities shall be com-
plete in the form in which it is finally passed, and remain on file with
the Commission for inspection by the public for at least one week before
the final adoption or passage thereof.
Section 5497. The Commission may. by ordinance, renew any grant
for the construction or operation of any utility, at its expiration, sub-
ject to petition and referendum as hereinbefore provided.
Section 5408. No exclusive grant or renewal shall ever be granted,
and no grant shall be renewed before two years prior to its expiration.
Section 5499. The Commission shall, in any ordinance granting or
renewing any grant to construct and operate a public utility, prescribe
the manner in which the streets and public grounds shall be used and
occupied.
Section 5500. The Commission may. by ordinance, grant to any in-
dividual, company, or corporation operating a public utility, the right
to extend the appliances and service of such utility outside of the terri-
tory as designated by the franchise, subject to petition and referendum
;is hereinbefore stated. All such extensions shall become part of the
aggregate property of the utility, and shall he subject to all the obli-
gations and reserved rights in favor of the municipality applicable to
the property of the utility by virtue of the ordinance providing for its
construction and operation. The right to use and maintain any such
extensions shall expire witli the original grant of the utility to which
the extension was made, or any renewal thereof.
(Sections 5501 -551. '5. inclusive, bearing on Powers and Duties of Com-
mission, omitted.)
Section 5514. Any municipality which shall have operated for more
than two years under the provisions of this Act. may abandon such or-
ganization hereunder, and accept the provisions of the general laws of
the state applicable to municipalities of its population.
Upon the petition of not less than twenty-five per cent of the elec-
tors of such municipality registered for the last preceding general elec-
tion, a special election shall be called, at which the following proposi-
tion only shall be submitted:
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA 209
•shall the (city or town) of (name of city or town (abandon its
organization under the (name of this Act) and become a (city or town)
under the genera] law governing (cities or towns) of like population;
or if formerly organized under social charter, shall resume said special
charter?"
If the majority of the votes cast at such special election be in
favor of such proposition, the officers elected at the next succeeding
biennial election shall be those then prescribed by the general laws of
the state for municipalities of like population, and upon the qualifica-
tion of such officers, such municipality shall become a municipality
under such general law of the state, but such change shall not in any
manner or degree affect the property rights, or liabilities of any nature
of such municipality, but shall merely extend to each change in its form
of government.
The sufficiency of such petition shall be determined, the election
ordered and conducted, and the results declared, as provided for by the
provisions of this Act. insofar as the provisions thereof are applicable.
Whenever the form of government of a municipality is determined by
a vote of the people under the provisions of this section, the same ques-
tion shall not be submitted again for a period of two years, and any
ordinance adopted by the vote of the people shall not be repealed or
the same question submitted for a period of two years.
Section 5515. Except as otherwise in this Act provided, all Acts
and parts of Acts and all laws now in force or hereafter enacted rela-
tive to municipal corporations, are hereby continued in full force and
effect and shall be considered and construed as not repealed by this
Act. except insofar as the same may be in conflict or inconsistent with
the provisions of this Act. As amended by Chapter '51. Laws of 1923.
Section 5516. All laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith are
hereby repealed; provided, however, that this Act shall not repeal or
modify any of the provisions of an Act approved March 4. 1913. en-
titled An Act making the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State
of Montana ex-officio a Public Service Commission for the regulation
and control of certain public utilities, etc., or any amendment or amend-
ments of said Act, or Section 6645 of the Revised Codes of Montana of
1921. and neither shall this Act in any manner curtail or impair the
power or authority of said Public Service Commission and any order
made, action taken, or regulation provided, by said Commission shall
supersede and nullify any order, regulation, ordinance or other action
authorized by this Act in conflict with any such order, regulation, or
action, of said Public Service Commission ; provided, that the annual
report relating to the operation of any public utility owned by any
municipality operating under the provisions of this Act, to be made to
said Public Sendee Commission, shall conform to the fiscal year of
such city or town as established by this Act. As amended by Chapter
31, Laws of 1923.
Section 5517. Whenever any group of communities shall become a
single municipal district under the provisions of this law, the Commis-
210 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
sipnexs elected at the first election shall have the same function? ami
authority, and municipal procedure in all respects shall be the same as
Is provided in this law where single communities, cities, or towns adopt
the Commission-Manager form of government, and the terms of all
municipal officers in any prior city or town which may he included in
such new municipal district shall in like manner cease and terminate
as soon as the Commissioners shall by resolution so declare, and the
corporate functions and existence of any such prior municipal corpora-
tion may in like manner be terminated by said Commissioners when the
need for the further existence of such prior corporation shall be at an
end.
Section 5518. Whenever any group of communities, including one
or more incorporated cities or towns, shall become a single municipal
district under this law, such municipal district shall bear the same
name as the principal incorporated city or town in such disti'ict.
Section 5519. Whenever any group of communities, including one
or more incorporated cities or towns, shall become a single municipal
district under this law, the corporate property of each such city or
town shall become the property of the new municipality, hut improve-
ments paid for in whole or in part by special assessments upon abutting
property within special improvement districts shall not be deemed mu-
nicipal property within the meaning of this law, to the extent of pay-
ments so made. If such prior city or town shall have an unpaid in-
debtedness, the Commissioners of said new municipality elected at the
first municipal election shall inventory and appraise or cause to 1«'
inventoried and appraised, all such property, and if the amount of the
indebtedness of such prior city or town shall exceed the inventory value
of the property surrendered to the new municipality by such prior city
or town, then the excess of such indebtedness over the inventory value
of said property shall he a charge only against the taxable property
within the limits of such prior city or town, and shall be paid by levy
upon such property alone.
Section 5520. Whenever any city organized under this Act includes
the county seat of the county in which it is situated, any unused space
in the county buildings in such city may be rented to the City Commis-
sioners for municipal use by the Board of County Commissioners for
such rent as shall represent an income of not more than six per cent
upon the investment in such buildings proportionate to the space rented.
Such Commissioners may also contract with the Board of County Com-
missioners for the performance by county officials or employees of any
kind of municipal work which can be feasibly performed by them. The
compensation for such work shall be based upon additional cost to the
county of its performance, and such compensation shall be paid into the
general fund of such county unless otherwise provided by law,
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 211
CHAPTER 47, LAWS OF 1929
An Act to Amend Chapter 98 of the Session Laws of the Eighteenth
Legislative Assembly Relating to the Qualifications of Electors En-
titled to Vote Upon Proposals to Create or Increase Indebtedness of
the City. Town, School District or Other Municipal Corporations and
Relating to Official Duties Concerned Therewith.
Be It Enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Montana:
Section 1. That Chapter 98 of the Session Laws of the Eighteenth
Legislative Assembly be, and the same is hereby amended to read as
follows :
Section 1. That from and after the passage and approval of this
Act. only such registered electors of the city, town, school district, or
other municipal corporation whose names appear upon the last preced-
ing assessment roll shall be entitled to vote upon any proposal to create
or increase any indebtedness of city. town, school district or other mu-
nicipal corporation, required by law to be submitted to a vote of the
electors thereof.
Section 2. The County Clerk shall, immediately after the closing
of the registration books of his county preceding such election, as pro-
vided by law, prepare lists of the registered electors of the city, town,
school district, or other municipal corporation whose names appear upon
the last preceding assessment roll, and shall prepare poll books there-
for as provided by Section 568, Revised Codes of Montana of 1921, and
furnish copies thereof to the city, town, school district or municipal
corporation in which such election is to be held for which he shall re-
ceive compensation as provided in Section 571. Revised Codes of Mon-
tana of 1921. When the election is upon a proposal to create or increase
the indebtedness of a city, town, school district or other municipal cor-
poration, the County Clerk shall deliver such lists to the clerk of the
city. town, school district or other municipal corporation, holding such
election, and it shall be his duty to post such lists in the manner pro-
vided in said Section 567.
Section 2. All Acts and parts of Acts in conflict herewith are
hereby repealed.
Section 3. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and
after its passage.
Aproved March 1. 1929.
JUDICIAL OFFICERS
Justices of the Supreme Court.
(Constitutional Provisions. Article VIII, Section 12, page 11)
Section 8790. On and after September 1, 1919, the Supreme Court
shall consist of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, who shall
be elected by the qualified electors of the state at large at the general
state elections next preceding the expiration of the terms of office of
212 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
their predecessors, respectively, and shall hold their offices for the
term of six years from and after the first Monday of January next
succeeding their election.
Section S791. The first term of office of one of the additional
Justices of the Supreme Court hereby provided for shall extend from
the first day of September. 1919. to the first Monday of January. 1921 :
and John Hurley of Valley County. Montana, is hereby named as said
Justice of the Supreme Court, and he shall hold said office for said
term.
Section 8792. The first term of office of the other said additional
Justice of the Supreme Court hereby provided for shall extend from
the first day of September. 1919, to the first Monday of January. 1923;
and George Y. Patten of Gallatin County, Montana, is hereby named as
said additional Justice of the Supreme Court, and he shall hold office
for said term.
Section 8797. The years during which a Justice of the Supreme
Court is to hold office are to be computed respectively from and in-
cluding the first Monday of January of any one year to and excluding
the first Monday of January of the next succeeding year.
Section 8798. If a vacancy occur in the office of a Justice of the
Supreme Court, the Governor must appoint an eligible person to hold
the office until the election and qualification of a Justice to fill the
vacancy, which election must take place at the next succeeding general
election ; and the Justice so elected holds the office for the remainder
of the unexpired term of his predecessor.
JUDICIAL DISTRICTS
Section SS12. Judicial Districts Defined. In this state there are
seventeen judicial districts, distributed as follows:
First District, Lewis and Clark and Broadwater counties.
Second District, Silver Bow county.
Third District, Deer Lodge, Granite, and Powell counties.
Fourth District. Missoula. Mineral, Lake, Ravalli, and Sanders
counties.
Fifth District, Beaverhead, Jefferson, and Madison counties.
Sixth District. Gallatin, Park, and Sweet Grass counties.
Seventh District. Dawson. McCone. Richland, and Wibaux counties.
Eighth District, Cascade and Chouteau counties.
N'inth District. Teton. Pondera. Toole, and Glacier counties.
Tenth District. Fergus. Judith Basin, and Petroleum counties.
Eleventh District. Flathead and Lincoln counties.
Twelfth District. Liberty, Hill, and Blaine counties.
Thirteenth District, Yellowstone, Big Horn, Carbon, Stillwater, and
Treasure counties.
Fourteenth District, Meagher, Wheatland, Golden Valley, and Mus-
selshell counties.
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 213
Fifteenth District, Roosevelt, Daniels, and Sheridan counties.
Sixteenth District. Coster, Carter. Fallon, Prairie, Powder River.
Garfield, and Rosebud counties.
Seventeenth District, Phillips and Valley counties.
(As amended by Chapter 91, Laws of 1929.)
Section 8813. .Number of Judges. In each Judicial District there
must be the following number of Judges of the District Court, who
must be elected by the qualified voters of the district, and whose term
of office must be four years, to-wit : In the First, Second, Fourth.
Eighth. Thirteenth and Sixteenth, two judges each, in all other districts
one judge each. (As amended by Chapter 91. Laws of 1929.)
CHAPTER 91, LAWS OF 1929
Section 3. For the purpose of electing district judges at the gen-
eral election to be held during the year 1932. and at the primary elec-
tion preceding same, this Act shall be in full force and effect from
and after its passage and approval, and at such general election district
judges in this state shall be elected in accordance and in compliance
with the provisions of this Act and not otherwise.
Section 4. For all purposes other than those specified in the next
preceding section, this Act shall be in full force and effect on and after
the first Monday in January, 1933. and until said first Monday in Janu-
ary. 1933, the judicial districts and district judges in this state shall be
and remain as heretofore provided in Section 3 of this Act.
Section 8820. If a vacancy occur in the office of judge of a dis-
trict court, the governor must appoint an eligible person to hold the
office until the election and qualification of a judge to fill the vacancy,
which election must take place at the next succeeding general election,
and the judge so elected holds office for the remainder of the unex-
pired term.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE
(Constitutional Provision, Article VIII. Section 20. See page 12)
Section 8833. There must be at least two Justices' Courts in each
of the organized townships of the state, for which two justices of the
peace must be elected by the qualified electors of the township at the
general state election next preceding the expiration of the term of office
of his predecessor.
******
Section 8837. The term of office of justices of peace is two years
from the first Monday in January next succeeding their election.
Section 8838. If a vacancy occurs in the office of a justice of the
peace, the County Commissioners of the county must appoint an eligible
person to hold the office for the remainder of the unexpired term.
214 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
BOND ISSUE, RESTRAINED
Section 0040. No action can be brought for the purpose of rest rain-
ing the issuance and sale of bonds by any school district, county, city or
town in the State of Montana, or for the purpose of restraining the
levy and collection of taxes for the payment of such bonds, after the
expiration of sixty days from the date of the order authorizing the
issuance and sale of such bonds, on account of any defect, irregularity,
or informality in giving notice, or in holding the election upon the
question of such bond issue.
CRIMES AGAINST ELECTIVE FRANCHISE
Section 10747. Every person charged with the performance of any
duty, under the provisions of any law of this state relating to elections,
or the registration of the names of electors, or the canvassing of the
returns of election, who wilfully neglects or refuses to perform sucli
duty, or who, in his official capacity, knowingly and fraudulently acts
in contravention or violation of any of the previsions of such laws, is.
unless a different punishment for such acts or omissions is prescribed
by this Code, punishable by fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars,
or by imprisonment in the state prison not exceeding five years, or
both.
Section 10748. Every person who wilfully causes, procures, or al-
lows himself to be registered in the official register of any election dis-
trict of any county, knowing himself not to be entitled to such registra-
tion, is punishable by a fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars, or by
imprisonment in the county jail or state prison not exceeding one year,
or both. In all cases where, on the trial of the person charged with
any offense under the provisions of this section, it appears in evidence
that the accused stands registered in such register of any county,
without being qualified for such registration, the court must order such
registration to be cancelled.
Section 10749. Every person not entitled to vote who fraudulently
votes, and every person who votes more than once at any one election,
or changes any ballot after the same has been deposited in the ballot-
box, or adds, or attempts to add, any ballot to those legally polled at
any election, either by fraudulently introducing the same into the ballot
box before or after the ballots therein have been counted; or adds to,
or mixes with, or attempts to add to or mix with, the ballots lawfully
polled, other ballots, while the same are being counted or canvassed.
or at any other time, with intent to change the result of such election;
or carries away or destroys, or attempts to carry away or destroy, any
poll-lists, check-lists, or ballots, or ballot box, for the purpose of break-
ing up or invalidating such election, or wilfully detains, mutilates, or
destroys any election returns, or in any manner so interferes with the
officers holding such election or conducting such canvass, or with the
voters lawfully exercising their rights of voting at such election, as
to prevent such election or canvass from being fairly held and lawfully
conducted, is guilty of a felony.
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 2l5
Section 10750. Every person doI entitled to vote, who fraudulently
attempts to vote or register, or who, being entitled to vote, attempts to
vote or register more than once at any eiectiin, is guilty of a misde-
meanor.
Section 10751. Every person who procures, aids, assists, counsels,
or advises another to register or give or offer his vote at any election,
knowing that the person is not entitled to vote or register, is guilty of
a misdemeanor.
Section 10752. Every officer or clerk of election who aids in chang-
ing or destroying any poll-list or check-list, or in placing any ballots
in the ballot box, or taking any therefrom, or adds, or attempts to add.
any ballots to those legally polled at such election, either by fraudu-
lently introducing the same into the ballot box before or after the
ballots therein have been counted, or adds to or mixes with, or attempts
to add to or mix with, the ballots polled, any other ballots, while the
same are being counted or canvassed, or at any other time, with in-
tent to change the result of such election, or allows another to do so,
when in his power to prevent it, or carries away or destroys, or know-
ingly allows another to carry away or destroy, any poll-list, check-list,
ballot box, or ballots lawfully polled, is guilty of a felony.
Section 10753. Every judge or clerk of an election who. previous to
putting the ballot of an elector in the ballot box, attempts to find out
any name on such ballot, or who opens or suffers the folded ballot
of any elector which has been handed in, to be opened or examined
previous to putting the same into the ballot box, or who makes or places
any mark or device on any folded ballot, with the view to ascertain
the name of any person for whom the elector has voted, is punishable
by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of six months, or in
the state prison not exceeding two years, or by fine, not exceeding Five
Hundred Dollars, or by both.
Section 10754. Every person who forges or counterfeits returns of
an election purporting to have been held at a precinct, town, or ward
where no election was in fact held, or wilfully substitutes forged or
counterfeit returns of election in the place of the true returns for a
precinct, town, or ward where an election was actually held, is pun-
ishable by imprisonment in the state prison for a term not less than
two nor more than ten years.
Section 10755. Every person who wilfully adds to or subtracts from
the votes actually cast at an election, in any returns, or who alters such
returns, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not less
than one nor more than five years.
Section 10756. Every person who aids or abets in the commission
of any of the offenses mentioned in the four preceding sections is pun-
ishable by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of six months,
or in the state prison not exceeding two years.
216 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Section 10757. Every person who, by force, threats, menaces, brib-
ery, or any corrupt means, either directly or indirectly, attempts to
influence any elector in giving his vote, or to deter him from giving the
same, or attempts by any means whatever to awe, restrain, hinder, or
disturb any elector in the free exercise of the right of suffrage, or de-
frauds any elector at any such election, by deceiving and causing such
elector to vote for a different person for any office than he intended
or desired to vote for ; or who, being judge or clerk of any election,
while acting as such, induces, or attempts to induce, any elector, either
by menaces or reward, or promise thereof, to vote differently from what
such elector intended or desired to vote, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and
is punishable by a fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars, or imprison-
ment not to exceed one year, or both.
Section 1075S. Every person who falsely makes, or fraudulently de-
faces or destroys, the certificates of nomination of candidates for office,
to be filled by the electors at any election, or any part thereof, or files
or receives for filing any certificate of nomination, knowing the same,
or any part thereof, to be falsely made, or suppresses any certificate of
nomination, which has been duly filed, or any part thereof, or forges or
falsely makes the official endorsement on any ballot, is guilty of a
felony, and upon conviction thereof is punishable by imprisonment in
the state prison not less than one nor more than five years.
Section 10759. Every officer or clerk of election who deposits in
a ballot box a ballot on which the official stamp, as provided by law.
does not appear, or does any electioneering on election day, is guilty of
a misdemeanor, and upon conviction is punishable by imprisonment not
to exceed six months, or by a fine of not less than Fifty nor more than
Five Hundred Rollars, or both.
Section 10760. Every person who, during an election removes or
destroys any of the supplies or other conveniences placed in the booths
or compartments for the purpose of enabling a voter to prepare his bal-
lot, or prior to or on the day of election wilfully defaces or destroys
any list of candidates posted in accordance with the provisions of law.
or during an election tears down or defaces the cards printed for the
instruction of voters, or does any electioneering on election day within
any polling place or any building in which an election is being held, or
within twenty-five feet thereof, or obstructs the doors or entries thereof,
or removes any ballot from the polling place before the closing of the
polls, or shows his ballot to any person after it is marked so as to re-
veal the contents thereof, or solicits an elector to show his ballot after
it is marked, or places a mark on his ballot by which it may afterwards
be identified, or receives a ballot from any other person than one of
the judges of the election having charge of the ballots, or votes or offers
to vote any ballot except such as he has received from the judges of
election having charge of the ballots, or does not return the ballot be-
fore leaving the polling place, delivered to him by such judges, and
which he has not voted, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and is punishable
by a fine not exceeding One Hundred Dollars.
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 217
Section 10701. Every person who. with the intention to promote
tlic election Of himself or any other person either:
1. Furnishes entertainments, at his expense, to any meeting of
electors previous to or during an election ;
2. Pays for, procures, or engages to pay for any such enter-
tainment ;
3. Furnishes or engages to pay any money or property for the
purpose of procuring the attendance of voters at the polls, or for the
purpose of compensating any person for procuring the attendance of
A'oters at the polls except for the conveyance of voters who are sick
or infirm ;
4. Furnishes or engages to pay or deliver any money or property
for any purpose intended to promote the election of any candidate, ex-
cept for the expenses of holding and conducting public meetings for
the discussion of public questions, and of printing and circulating bal-
lots, hand hills, and other papers, previous to such election ; is guilty
of a misdemeanor.
Section 10702. Every person who. being a candidate at any elec-
tion, offers, or agrees to appoint or procure, the appointment of any
particular person to office, as an inducement or consideration to any
person to vote for, or to procure or aid in procuring the election of
such candidate, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Section 10703. Every person, not being a candidate, who communi-
cates any offer, made in violation of the last section, to any person,
with intent to induce him to vote for, or to procure or to aid in pro-
curing the election of the candidate making the offer, is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
Section 10704. Every person who gives or offers a bribe to any
officer or member of any legislative caucus, political convention, or pol-
itical gathering of any kind, held for the purpose of nominating candi-
dates for offices of honor, trust, or profit, in this state, with intent
to influence the person to whom such bribe is given or offered to be
more favorable to one candidate than another, and every person, mem-
ber of either of the bodies in this section mentioned, who receives or
offers to receive any such bribe, is punishable by imprisonment in the
state prison not less than one nor more than fourteen years.
Section 10705. Every person who. by threats, intimidations, or vio-
lence, wilfully hinders or prevents electors from assembling in public
meeting for the consideration of public questions, is guilty of a misde-
meanor.
Section 10700. Every person who wilfully disturbs or breaks up
any public meeting of electors or others, lawfully being held for the pur-
pose of considering public questions, or any public school or public school
meeting, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Section 10707. Every person who makes, offers, or accepts any
bet or wager upon the result of any election, or upon the success or
2l8 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
failure of any person or candidate, or upon the number of votes to be
cast, either in the aggregate or for any particular candidate, or upon
the vote to be cast by any person, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Section 1076S. Every person who wilfully violates any of the pro-
visions of the laws of this state relating to elections is, unless a dif-
ferent punishment for such violation is prescribed by this Code, punish-
able by fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars, or by imprisonment
in the state prison not exceeding five years, or both.
Section 10769. The following persons shall be deemed guilty of
bribery, and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding One Thousand
Dollars, and imprisonment in the penitentiary not exceeding one year:
1. Every person who, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any
other person on his behalf, gives, lends, or agrees to give or lend, or
offers or promises, any money or valuable consideration, or promise to
procure, or endeavors to procure any money or valuable consideration
to or for any election, or to do for any person on behalf of any elector,
or to or for any person, in order to induce any elector to vote or re-
frain from voting, or corruptly does any such act as aforesaid :
2. Every person who, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any
other person on his behalf, gives, or procures, or agrees to give or pro-
cure, or offers or promises, any office, place, or employment, to or for
any elector, or to or for any other person, in order to induce such elec-
tor to vote or refrain from voting, or corruptly does any such act as
aforesaid, on account of any elector having voted or refrained from
voting at any election ;
3. Every person who, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any
other persons on his behalf, makes any gift, loan, offer, promise, pro-
curement, or agreement as aforesaid, to or for any person, in order to
induce such person to procure or endeavor to procure the return of
any person to serve in the Legislative Assembly, or the vote of any
elector at any election ;
4. Every person who, upon or in consequence of any such gift.
loan, offer, promise, procurement, or agreement, procures or promises, or
endeavors to procure, the election of any candidate to the Legislative
Assembly, or the vote of any elector at any election ;
5. Every person who advances or pays, or causes to be paid, any
money to, or to the use of any other person, with the intent that such
money or any part thereof, shall be expended in bribery, or in corrupt
practices, at any election, or who knowingly pays, or causes to be paid,
any money to any person in discharge or repayment of any money
wholly or in part expended in bribery or corrupt practices at any
election ;
6. Every elector who, before or during any election directly or in-
directly, by himself or any other person on his behalf, receives, agrees,
or contracts for any money, gift loan, valuable consideration, office,
place, or employment, for himself or any other person, for voting or
agreeing to vote, or for refusing or agreeing to refrain from voting at
any election ;
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 219
7. Every person who, after any elect ion, directly or Indirectly, by
himself or by any other person in his behalf, receives any money, gift,
loan, valuable consideration, office, place, or employment, for having
voted or refrained from voting, or having induced any other person to
vote or refrain from voting at any election ;
8. Every person, whether an elector or otherwise, who, before or
during any election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other
person on his behalf, makes approaches to any candidate or agent, or
any person representing or acting on behalf of any candidate at such
election, and asks for, or offers to agree or contract for, any money,
gift, loan, valuable consideration, office, place, or employment for him-
self or any other person, for voting or agreeing to vote, or for refrain-
ing or agreeing to refrain from voting at such election ;
9. Every person, whether an elector or otherwise, who, after an
election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on
his behalf, makes approaches to any candidate, or any agent or person
representing or acting on behalf of any candidate, and asks for or offers
to receive any money, gift, loan, valuable consideration, office, place,
or employment, for himself or any other person, for having voted or
refrained from voting, or having induced any other person to vote or
refrain from voting at such election ;
10. Every person who. in order to induce a person to allow him-
self to be nominated as a candidate, or to refrain from becoming a
candidate, or to withdraw if he has so become, gives or lends any
money or valuable consideration whatever, or agrees to give or lend, or
offers or promises any such money or valuable consideration, or promises
to procure or try to procure, or tries to procure, for such person, or
for any other person, any money or valuable consideration ;
11. Every person who, for the purpose and with the intent in the
last preceding subsection mentioned, gives or procures any office, place,
or employment, or agrees to give, or procure or offers or promises, such
office, place, or employment, or endeavors to procure, or promises to pro-
cure or to endeavor to procure, such office, place or employment, to or
for such person or any other person ;
12. Every person who, in consideration of any gift, loan, offer,
promise, or agreement, as mentioned in the two last preceding subsec-
tions, allows himself to be nominated, or refuses to allow himself to be
nominated, as a candidate at an election, or withdraws if he has been
so nominated ;
13. Every elector, candidate for nomination, nominee, or political
committee who shall pay, or offer to pay, the fee for any person who is
about to, or has made his declaration of intention, or has taken out, or
is about to take out, his final papers as a citizen of the United States ;
and every person who receives any money or other valuable thing to
pay such fee, or permits the same to be paid for him.
Section 10770. It shall be unlawful for any employer, in paying his
employees the salary or wages due them, to enclose their pay in "pay
envelopes" upon which there is written or printed the name of any can-
didate or political mottoes, devices, or arguments containing threats or
220 ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA
promise, express or implied, calculated or intended to influence the pol-
itical opinions or actions of such employees. Nor shall it he lawful for
an employer, within ninety days of an election, to put up or otherwise
exhibit in his factory, workshop, or other establishment or place where
his workmen or employees may be working, any hand bill or placard
containing any threat or promise, notice, or information, that in case
any particular ticket or political party, or organization, or candidate,
shall be elected, work in his place or establishment will cease, in whole
or in part, or shall be continued or increased, or his place of establish-
ment be closed up, or the salaries or wages of his workmen or em-
ployees be reduced or increased, or other threats, or promises, express
or implied, intended or calculated to influence the political opinions or
actions of his workmen or employees. This section shall apply to cor-
porations as well as individuals, and any person violating the provisions
of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall bo punished by a
fine of not less than Twenty-five Dollars nor more than Five Hundred
Dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months in the county jail,
and any corporation violating this section shall be punished by a fine
not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars, or forfeit its charter, or both such
fine and forfeiture.
Section 10771. All fines imposed and collected under the preceding
sections shall be paid into the county treasury for the benefit of the
common schools of the county in which the offense was committed.
Section 10772. If it be proved before any court for the trial of
election contests or petitions that any corrupt practice has been com-
mitted, by or with the actual knowledge and consent of any candidate
at an election, if he has been elected, such election shall be void, and
shall be so adjudged.
CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT
Section 1077U. No sums of money shall be paid, and no expenses
authorized or incurred, by or on behalf of* any candidate to be paid by
him, except such as he may pay to the state for printing, as herein
provided, in his campaign for nomination to any public office or po-
sition in this state, in excess of fifteen per cent of one year's compen-
sation or salary of the office for which he is a candidate; provided,
that no candidate shall be restricted to less than one hundred dollars in
his campaign for such nomination. No sums of money shall be paid,
and DO expenses authorized or incurred, contrary to the provisions of
this Act, for or on behalf of any candidate for nomination. For the
purposes of this law, the contribution, expenditure, or liability of a
descendant, ascendant, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, wife,
partner, employer, employee, or fellow official or fellow employee of a
corporation, shall be deemed to be that of the candidate himself.
Section 10774. No sums of money shall he paid and no expenses
authorized or incurred by or on behalf of any candidate who has re
ceived the nomination to any public office or position in this state,
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 221
except such as in- may contribute towards payment for ins political
party's or independent Statement in the pamphlet herein provided for.
tn he paid by him in his campaign fur election, in excess of ton per
cent of one year's salary or compensation of the office for which ho is
nominated : provided, that no candidate shall he restricted to less than
one hundred dollars. Xo sum of money shall be paid and no expenses
authorized or incurred by or on behalf of any political party or organi-
zation to promote the success of the principles or candidates of such
party or organization, contrary to the provisions of this Act. For the
purposes of this Act, the contribution, expenditure, or liability of a
descendant, ascendant, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, wife,
partner, employer, employee, or fellow official or fellow employee of a
corporation, shall he deemed to be that of the candidate himself.
Section 10775. Terms used in this Act shall he construed as follows,
unless other moaning is clearly apparent from the language or con-
text, or unless such construction is inconsistent with the manifest in-
tent of the law :
"Persons" shall apply to any individual, male or female, and. where
consistent with collective capacity, to any committee firm, partnership,
club, organization, association, corporation, or other combination of
individuals.
"Candidate" shall apply to any person whose name is printed on an
official ballot for public office, or whose name is expected to be or has
been presented for public office, with his consent, for nomination or
election.
"Political agent" shall apply to any person who. upon request or
under agreement, receives or dishurses money in behalf of a candidate.
"Political committee" shall apply to every combination of two or
more persons who shall aid or promote the success or defeat of a candi-
date, or a political party or principle, and the provisions of law relating
thereto shall apply to any firm or partnership, to any corporation, and
to any club, organization, association, or other combination of persons,
whether incorporated or not. with similar purposes, whether primary
or incidental.
"Public office" shall apply to any national, state, county, or city
office to which a salary attaches and which is filled by the voters, as
well as to the office of presidential elector. United States senator, or
presiding officer of either branch of the legislature.
"Give." "provide." "expend." "contribute," "receive," "ask," "solicit,''
and like terms, with their corresponding nouns, shall apply to money.
its equivalent, or any other valuable thing; shall include the promise,
advance deposit, borrowing, or loan thereof, and shall cover all or any
part of a transaction, whether it be made directly or indirectly.
None of the provisions of this Act shall be construed as relating to
the rendering of services by speakers, writers, publishers, or others, for
which no compensation is asked or given ; nor to prohibit expenditure
by committees of political parties or organizations for public speakers,
music halls, lights, literature, advertising, office rent, printing, postage.
222 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
clerk hire, challengers or watchers at the polls, traveling expenses, tele-
graphing or telephoning, or making of poll-lists.
Section 10776. Every candidate for nomination or election to public
office, including candidates for the office of senator of the United States,
shall, within fifteen days after the election at which he was a candidate,
file with the Secretary of State if a candidate for senator of the United
States, representative in congress, or for any state or district office in
a district composed of one or more counties, or for memhers of the legis-
lative assembly from a district composed of more than one county, hut
with the County Clerk for legislative districts composed of not more than
one county, and for county and precinct offices, and with the City Clerk.
Auditor, or Recorder of the town or city in which he resides, if he
was a candidate for a town, city, or ward office, an itemized sworn
statement setting forth in detail all the moneys contributed, expended,
or promised by him to aid and promote his nomination or election, or
both, as the case may be, and for the election of his party candidates,
and all existing unfulfilled promises of every character, and all liabilities
remaining uncancelled and in force at the time such statement is made,
whether such expenditures, promises, and liabilities were made or in-
curred before, during, or after such election. If no money or other valu-
able thing was given, paid, expended, contributed, or promised, and no
unfulfilled liabilities were incurred by a candidate for public office to
aid or promote his nomination or election, or the election of his party
candidates, he shall file a statement to that effect within fifteen days
after the election at which he was a candidate. Any candidate who shall
fail to file such a statement shall be fined twenty-five dollars for every
day on which he was in default, unless be shall be excused by the
court. Fifteen days after any such election the Secretary of State, or
County Clerk. City Clerk. Auditor, or Recorder, as the case may be,
shall notify the County Attorney of any failure to file such a statement
mi (lie part of any candidate, and within ten days thereafter such prose-
cuting officer shall proceed to prosecute said candidate for such offense.
Section 10777. Every political committee shall have a treasurer,
who is a voter, and shall cause him to keep detailed accounts of all
its receipts, payments, and liabilities. Similar accounts shall he kept
by every person, who in the aggregate receives or expends money or
incurs liabilities to the amount of more than fifty dollars for political
purposes, and by every political agent and candidate. Such accounts shall
cover all transactions in any way affecting or connected with the political
canvass, campaign, nomination, or election concerned. Every person re-
ceiving or expending money or incurring liability by authority or in be-
half of or to promote the success or defeat of such committee, agent,
candidate, or other person or political party or organization, shall, on
demand, and in any event within fourteen days after such receipt, ex-
penditure, or incurrence of liability, give such treasurer, agent, candi-
date, or other person on whose behalf such expense or liability was in-
curred detailed account thereof, with proper vouchers. Every payment,
except payments less in the aggregate than five dollars to any person,
shall be vouched for by a receipted bill stating the particulars of ex-
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 223
pense. Every voucher, receipt, and account hereby required shall be a
part of the accounts and files of such treasurer, agent, candidate, or
other person, and shall he preserved by the public officer with whom it
shall he filed for six months after the election to which it refers. Any
person not a candidate for any office or nomination who expends money
or value to an amount greater than fifty dollars in any campaign for
nomination or election, to aid in the election or defeat of any candidate
or candidates, or party ticket, or measure before the people, shall, within
ten days after the election in which said money or value was expended,
file with the Secretary of State in the case of a measure voted upon by
the people, or of state or district offices for districts composed of one
or more counties, or with the County Clerk for county offices, and with
the City Clerk, Auditor, or Recorder for municipal offices, an itemized
statement of such receipts and expenditures and vouchers for every sum
paid in excess of five dollars, and shall at the same time deliver to the
candidate or treasurer of the political oi-ganization whose success or de-
feat he has sought to promote, a duplicate of such statement and a copy
of such vouchers. The books of account of every treasurer of any political
party, committee, or organization, during an election campaign, shall be
open at all reasonable office hours to the inspection of the treasurer, and
chairman of any opposing political party or organization for the same
electoral district ; and his right of inspection may be enforced by writ of
mandamus by any court of competent jurisdiction.
Section 10778. The Secretary of State shall, at the expense of the
state, furnish to the County Clerk, and to the City and Town Clerks,
Auditors, and Recorders, copies of this Act as a part of the election
laws. In the filing of a nomination petition or certificate of nomination,
the Secretary of State, in the case of state and district offices for dis-
tricts composed of one or more counties, and County Clerks for county
offices, and the City and Town Clerks. Auditors, or Recorders for muni-
cipal offices, shall transmit to the several candidates, and to the treas-
urers of political committees, and to political agents, as far as they
may be known to such officer, copies of this Act, and also to any other
person required to file a statement ; such copies shall be furnished upon
application therefor. Upon his own information, or at the written re-
quest of any voter, said Secretary of State shall transmit to any other
person believed by him or averred to be a candidate, or who may
otherwise be required to make a statement, a copy of this Act.
Section 10779. The several officers with whom statements are re-
quired to be filed shall inspect all statements of accounts and expenses
relating to nominations and elections filed with them within ten days
after the same are filed ; and if, upon examination of the official ballot,
it appears that any person has failed to file a statement as required
by law, or if it appears to any such officer that the statement filed
with him does not conform to law, or upon complaint in writing by a
candidate or by a voter that a statement filed does not conform to law
or to the truth, or that any person has failed to file a statement which
he is by law required to file said officer shall forthwith in writing
notify the delinquent person. Every such complaint filed by a citizen
224 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
or candidate shall state in detail the grounds of objection, shall be sworn
to by the complainant, and shall be filed with the officer within sixty
days after the filing of the statement or amended statement. Upon the
written request of a candidate or any voter, filed within sixteen days
after any convention, primary, or nominating election, said Secretai'y
of State, County Clerk. City or Town Clerk. Auditor, or Recorder, as the
case may be. shall demand from any specified person or candidate a
statement of all his receipts, and from whom received, disbursements
and liabilities in connection with or in any way relating to the nomina-
tion or election concerned, whether it is an office to which a salary or
compensation is attached or not, and said person shall thereupon be re-
quired to file such statement and to comply with all the provisions re-
lating to statements herein contained. Whoever makes a statement re-
quired by this Act shall make oath attached thereto that it is in all
respects correct, complete, and true, to the best of his knowledge and
belief, and said verification shall be substantially the form herein pro-
vided.
Section 10780. Upon the failure of any person to file a statement
within ten days after receiving notice, under the preceding section, or
if any statement filed as above discloses any violation of any provision
of this Act relating to corrupt practices in elections, or in any other
provision of the election laws, the Secretary of State, the County Clerk,
or the City Clerk, Auditor, or Recorder, as the case may be, shall forth-
with notify the County Attorney of the county where said violation oc-
curred, and shall furnish him with copies of all papers relating thereto,
and said County Attorney shall, within sixty days thereafter, examine
every such case, and if the evidence seems to him to be sufficient under
the provisions of this Act. he shall, in the name of the state, forthwith
institute such civil or criminal proceedings as may be appropriate to the
facts.
Section 10781. The district court of the county in which any state-
ment of accounts and expenses relating to nominations and elections
should be filed, unless herein otherwise provided, shall have exclusive
original jurisdiction of all violations of this Act. and may compel any
person who fails to file such a statement as required by this Act, or
who files a statement which does not conform to the provisions of this
Act in respect to its truth, sufficiency in detail, or otherwise, to file a
sufficient statement, upon the application of the Attorney General or of
the County Attorney, or the petition of a candidate or of any voter.
Such petition shall be filed in the district court within sixty days after
such election if the statement was filed within the fifteen days required
but such a petition may lie filed within thirty days after any payment
not included in the statements so filed.
Section 107S2. All statements shall be preserved for six months
after the election to which they relate, shall be public records subject to
public inspection, and it shall be the duty of the officers having custody
of the same to give certified copies thereof in like manner as of other
public records. The totals of each statement, filed with him, with the
ELECTION LAWS OT MOITTANA 225
name of the person or candidate filing it, shall be published in the next
annual report of the Secretary of State, the County Clerk, or the City
Clerk. Auditor, or Recorder, as the case may be.
Section 10783. No person shall make a payment of his own money
or of another person's money to any other person in connection with
a nomination or election in any other name than that of the person who
in truth supplies such money ; nor shall any person knowingly receive
such payment, or enter, or cause the same to be entered, in his accoimts
or records in another name than that of the person by whom it was
actually furnished ; provided, if the money be received from the treasurer
of any political organization, it shall be sufficient to enter the same as
received from said treasurer.
Section 10784. No person shall, in order to aid or promote his nomi-
nation or election, directly or indirectly, himself or through any other
person, promise to appoint another person, or promise to secure or aid
in securing the appointment, nomination, or election of another person
to any public or private position or employment, or to any position of
honor, trust, or emolument, except that he may publicly announce or
define what is his choice or purpose in relation to any election in which
he may be called to take part, if elected, and if he is a candidate for
nomination or election as a member of the legislative assembly, he may
pledge himself to vote for the people's choice for United States senator,
or state what his action will be on such vote.
Section 107S5. No holder of a public position or office, other than
an office filled by the voters, shall pay or contribute to aid or promote
the nomination or election of any other person to public office. No
person shall invite, demand, or accept payment or contribution from such
holder of a public position or office for campaign purposes.
Section 10786. No holder of a public position, other than an office
filled by the voters, shall be a delegate to a convention for the election
district that elects the officer or board under whom he directly or in-
directly holds such position, nor shall he be a member of a political
committee for such district.
Section 10787. No person shall invite, offer, or effect the transfer
of any convention credentials in return for any payment of money or
other valuable thing.
Section 10788. No person shall pay, or promise to reward another,
in any manner or form, for the purpose of inducing him to be or re-
frain from or cease being a candidate, and no person shall solicit any
payment, promise, or reward from another for such purpose.
Section 10789. No person shall demand, solicit, ask, or invite any
payment or contribution for any religious, political, charitable, or other
cause or organization supposed to be primarily or principally for the
public good from a person who seeks to be or has been nominated or
elected to any office ; and no such candidate or elected person shall
226 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
make any such payment or contribution if it shall bo demanded or asked
during the time he is a candidate for nomination or election to or an
incumbent of any office. Xo payment or contribution for any purpose
■diall be made a condition precedent to the putting of a name on any
caucus or convention ballot or nomination paper or petition, or to the
performance of any duty imposed by law on a political committee. No
person shall demand, solicit, ask. or invite any candidate to subscribe
to the support of any club or organization, to buy tickets to any enter-
tainment or ball, or to subscribe for or pay for space in any book, pro-
gram, periodical, or other publication; if any candidate shall make any
such payment or contribution with apparent hope or intent to influence
the result of the election, he shall be guilty of a corrupt practice : but
tbis section shall not apply to the soliciting of any business advertise-
ment for insertion in a periodical in which such candidate was regularly
advertising prior to his candidacy, nor to ordinary business advertising,
nor to his regular payment to any organization, religious, charitable, or
otherwise, of which he may have been a member, or to which be may
have been a contributor, for more than six months before his candi-
dacy, nor to ordinary contributions at church services.
Section 10700. Xo corporation, and no person, trustee, or trustees
owning or holding the majority of the stock of a corporation carrying
on the business of a bank, savings bank, co-operative bank, trust, trus-
tee, surety, indemnity, safe deposit, insurance, railroad, street railway.
telegraph, telephone, gas, electric light, heat, power, canal, aqueduct.
water, cemetery, or crematory company, or any company having the right
to take or condemn land, or to exercise franchise in public ways granted
by the state or by the county, city, or town, shall pay or contribute in
order to aid. promote, or prevent the nomination or election of any per-
son, or in order to aid or promote the interests, success, or defeat of
any political party or organization. No person shall solicit or receive
such payment or contribution from such corporation or such bidders of
a majority of such stock.
Section 10701. Any person or candidate who shall, either by him-
self or by any other person, either before or after an election, or while
such person or candidate is seeking a nomination or election, directly or
indirectly, give or provide, or pay. wholly or in part, the expenses of
giving or providing any meat or drink, or other entertainment or provi-
sion, clothing, liquor, cigars, or tobacco, to or for any person for the
purpose of or with intent or hope to influence that person or any other
person, to give or refrain from giving his vote at such election to or for
any candidate or political party ticket, or measure before the people,
or on account of such persons, or any other person, having voted or
refrained from voting for any candidate or the candidates of any
political party or organization or measure before the people, or being
about to vote or refrain from voting at such election, shall be guilty
of treating. Every elector who accepts or takes any such meat, drink, en-
tertainment, provision, clothing, liquors, cigars, or tobacco, shall also be
guilty of treating; and such acceptance shall be a ground of challenge
to his vote and of rejecting his vote on a contest.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 227
Section 10702. Whenever any persons right to vote siuill be chal-
lenged, and ho lias taken the oath prescribed by the statutes, and if
it is at a dominating election, then it shall he the duty of the clerks
of election to write in the poll books at the end of such person's name
the words "challenged and sworn." with the name of the challenger.
Thereupon the chairman of the hoard of judges shall write upon the
back of the ballot offered by such challenged voter the number of his
ballot, in order that the same may be identified in any future contest
of the results of the election, and be cast out if it shall appear to the
court to have been for any reason wrongfully or illegally voted for any
candidate or on any question. And such marking of the name of such
challenged voter, nor the testimony nor the testimony of any judge or
clerk of election in reference thereto, or in reference to the manner in
which said challenged person voted, if said testimony shall be given in
the course of any contest, investigation, or trial wherein the legality of
the vote of such person is questioned for any reason, shall not be
deemed a violation of Section 10758 of this Code.
Section 10703. Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by
himself or any other person in his behalf, make use of or threaten to
ir::ke use of any force, coercion, violence, restraint, or undue influence,
nr inflict or threaten to inflict, by himself or any other person, any
temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm, or loss upon or against
any person in order to induce or compel such person to vote or refrain
from voting for any candidate, or the ticket of any political party, or
any measure before the people, or any person who. being a minister,
preacher, or priest, or any officer of any church, religious or other cor-
poration or organization, otherwise than by public speech or print, shall
urge, persuade, or command any voter to vote or refrain from voting
for or against any candidate or political party ticket or measure sub-
mitted to the people, for or on account of his religious duty, or the in-
terest of any corporation, church, or other organization, or who shall
by abduction, duress, or any fraudulent contrivance, impede or prevent
the free exercise of the franchise by any voter at any election, or shall
thereby compel, induce, or prevail upon any elector to give or to refrain
from giving his vote at any election, shall be guilty of undue influence,
and shall be punished as for a corrupt practice.
Section 10704. Any candidate who. before or during any election
campaign, makes any bet or wager of anything of pecuniary value,
or in any manner becomes a party to any such bet or wager on the
result of the election in his electoral district, or in any part thereof,
or on any event or contingency relating to any pending election, or who
provides money or other valuables to be used by any person in betting
or wagering upon the results of any impending election, shall be guilty
of a corrupt practice. Any person who. for the purpose of influencing
the result of any election, makes any bet or wager of anything of pe-
cuniary value on the result of such election in his electoral district, or
any part thereof, or any pending election, or on any event or contingency
relating thereto, shall be guilty of a corrupt practice, and in addition
228 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
thereto any such act shall be ground of challenge against his right to
vote.
Section 10795. Any person shall be deemed guilty of the offense of
personation who, at any election, applies for a ballot in the name of
some other person, whether it be that of a person living or dead, or of
a fictitious person, or, who having voted once at an election, applies at
the same election for a ballot in his own name ; and on conviction
thereof such person shall be punished by imprisonment in the peni-
tentiary at hard labor for not less than one nor more than three years.
Section 10796. Any person shall be guilty of a corrupt practice,
within the meaning of this Act. if he expends any money for election
purposes contrary to the provisions of any statute of this state, or if
he is guilty of treating, undue influence, personation, the giving or
promising to give, or offer of any money or valuable thing to any elec-
tor, with intent to induce such elector to vote for or to refrain from
voting for any candidate for public office, or the ticket of any political
party or organization, or any measure submitted to the people, at any
election, or to register or refrain from registering as a voter at any
state, district, county, city, town, village, or school district election for
public offices or on public measures. Such corrupt practice shall be
deemed to be prevalent when instances thereof occur in different elec-
tion districts similar in character and sufficient in number to convince
the court before which any case involving the same may be tried that
they were general and common, or were pursuant to a general scheme
or plan.
Section 10797. It shall be unlawful for any person to pay another
for any loss or damage due to attendance at the polls, or in registering,
or for the expense of transportation to or from the polls. No person
shall pay for personal service to be performed on the day of a caucus,
primary, convention, or any election, for any purpose connected there-
with, tending in any way, directly or indirectly, to affect the result
thereof, except for the hiring of persons whose sole duty is to act as
challengers and watch the count of official ballots. No person shall buy.
sell, give, or provide any political badge, button, or other insignia to
be worn at or about the polls on the day of any election, and no such
political badge, button, or other insignia shall be worn at or about the
polls on any election day.
Section 10798. No publisher of a newspaper or other periodical shall
insert, either in its advertising or reading columns, any paid matter
which is designed or tends to aid, injure, or defeat any candidate or any
political party or organization, or measure before the people, unless it
is stated therein that it is a paid advertisement, the name of the chair-
man or secretary, or the names of the other officers of the political or
other organization inserting the same, or the name of some voter who
is responsible therefor, with his residence and the street number thereof,
if any, appear in such advertisement in the nature of a signature. No
person shall pay the owner, editor, publisher, or agent of any newspaper
or other periodical to induce him to editorially advocate or oppose any
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA 229
candidate for nomination ot election, and no such owner, editor, pub-
lisher, or agent shall accept such payment. Any person who shall violate
any of the provisions of this section shall h<> punished as for a cornfpl
practice.
Section 1071)0. It shall he unlawful for any person at any place on
the day of any election to ask. solicit, or in any manner try to induce
or persuade any voter on such election day to vote for or refrain from
voting for any candidate, or the candidates or ticket of any political
party or organization, or any measure submitted to the people, and upon
conviction thereof he shall be punished by a fine of not less than Five
Dollars nor more than One Hundred Dollars for the first offense, and
for the second and each subsequent offense occurring on the same or
different election days, he shall be punished by a fine as aforesaid, or
by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than five nor more than
thirty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Section 10800. It shall be unlawful to write, print, or circulate
through the mails or otherwise any letter, circular, hill, placard, or poster
relating to any election or to any candidate at any election, unless the
same shall l>ear on its face the name and address of the author, and of
the printer and publisher thereof; and any person writing, printing, pub-
lishing, circulating, posting, or causing to be written, printed, circulated,
posted, or published any such letter, bill, placard, circular, or poster as
aforesaid, which fails to bear on its face the name and address of the
author and of the printer or publisher, shall be guilty of an illegal prac-
tice, and shall on conviction thereof be punished by a fine of not less
than Ten Dollars nor more than One Thousand Dollars. If any letter,
circular, poster, bill, publication, or placard shall contain any false state-
ment or charges reflecting on any candidate's character, morality, or in-
tegrity, the author thereof, and every person printing or knowingly as-
sisting in the circulation, shall be guilty of political criminal libel, and
upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the peni-
tentiary for not less than one year nor more than three years. If the
person charged with such crime shall prove on his trial that he had
reasonable ground to believe such charge was true, and did believe it
was true, and that he was not actuated by malice in making such publi-
cation, it shall be a sufficient defense to such charge. But in that event,
and as a part of such defense, the author and the printer or publisher
or other person charged with such crime, shall also prove that at least
fifteen days before such letter, circular, poster, bill, or placard contain-
ing such false statement or statements was printed or circulated, he or
they caused to be served personally and in person upon the candidate to
whom it relates a copy thereof in writing, and calling his attention par-
ticularly to the charges contained therein, and that, before printing, pub-
lishing, or circulating such charges, he received and read any denial,
defense, or explanation, if any, made or offered to him in writing by the
accused candidate within ten days after the service of such charge upon
the accused person.
Section 10801. The name of a candidate chosen at a primary nomi-
nating election, or otherwise, shall not be printed on the official ballot
230 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
for the ensuing election, unless there has been filed by or on behalf of
said candidate the statements of accounts and expenses relating to nomi-
nations required by tins Act, :is well as a statement by his political
agent and by his political committee or committees in his behalf, if his
statement discloses the existence of such agent, committee or com-
mittees. The officer or board entrusted by law with the preparation of
the official ballots for any election shall, as far as practicable, warn
candidates of the danger of the omission of their names by reason of
this provision, but delay in making any statement beyond the time
prescribed shall not preclude its acceptance or prevent the insertion of
the name on the ballot, if there is reasonable time therefor after the
receipt of such statements. Any such vacancy on the ballot shall be
filled by the proper committee of his political party in the manner
authorized by law, but not by the use of the name of the candidate
who failed to file such statements. No person shall receive a certificate
of election until he shall have filed the statements required by this Act.
Section 10802. It shall be unlawful for any person to accept, re-
ceive, or pay money or any valuable consideration for becoming or for
refraining from becoming a candidate for nomination or election, or by
himself or in combination with any other person or persons to become a
candidate for the purpose of defeating the nomination or election of any
other person, and not with a bona fide intent to obtain the office. Upon
complaint made to any district court, if the judge shall be convinced
that any person has sought the nomination, or seeks to have his name
presented to the voters as a candidate for nomination by any political
party, for any mercenary or venal consideration or motive, and that his
candidacy for the nomination is not in good faith, the judge shall forth-
with issue his writ of injunction restraining the officer or officers whose
duty it is to prepare the official ballots for such nominating election
from placing the name of such person thereon as a candidate for nomi-
nation to any office. In addition thereto, the court shall direct the County
Attorney to institute criminal proceedings against such person or per-
sons for corrupt practice, and upon conviction thereof he and any person
or persons combining with him shall be punished by a fine of not more
than One Thousand Dollars, or imprisonment in the county jail for not
more than one year.
Section lOSO.'i. Where, upon the trial of any action or proceeding
under the provisions of this Act for the contest of the right of any
person declared nominated or elected to any office, or to annul or set
aside such nomination or election, or to remove a person from his office,
it appears from the evidence that the offense complained of was not
committed by the candidate, or with his knowledge or consent, or was
committed without his sanction or connivance, and that all reasonable
means for preventing the commission of such offense at such election
were taken by and on behalf of the candidate, or that the offense or
offenses complained of were trivial, unimportant, and limited in charac-
ter, and that in all other respects his participation in the election was
free from such offenses or illegal acts, or that any act or omission of
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 231
the candidate arose from Inadvertence or from accidental miscalculation,
or from some other reasonable cause of a like nature, and In any case
did not arise from any want of good faith, and under the circumstance;
it seems to the court to be unjust that the said candidate shall forfeit
his nomination or office, or be deprived of any office of which he is
the incumbent, then the nomination or election of such candidate shall
not by reason of such offense or omission complained of be void, nor
shall the candidate be removed from or deprived of his office.
Section 10S04. If, upon the trial of any action or proceeding under
the provisions of this Act, for the contesting of the right of any person
declared to be nominated to an office, or elected to an office, or to
annul and set aside such election, or to remove any person from his
office, it shall appear that such person was guilty of any corrupt prac-
tice, illegal act, or undue influence, in or about such nomination or elec-
tion, he shall be punished by being deprived of the nomination or office,
as the case may be, and the vacancy therein shall be filled in the manner
provided by law. The only exception to this judgment shall be that pro-
vided in the preceding section of this Act. Such judgment shall not pre-
vent the candidate or officer from being proceeded against by indictment
or criminal information for any such act or acts.
Section 10805. Any action to contest the right of any person de-
clared elected to an office, or to annul and set aside such election, or
to remove from or deprive any person of an office of which he is the
incumbent, for any offense mentioned in this Act, must, unless a dif-
ferent time be stated, be commenced within forty days after the return
day of the election at which such offense was committed, unless the
ground of the action or proceeding is for the illegal payment of money
or other valuable thing subsequent to the filing of the statements pre-
scribed by this Act, in which case the action or proceeding may be com-
menced within forty days after the discovery by the complaint of such
illegal payment. A contest of the nomination or office of governor or
representative or senator in congress must be commenced within twenty
days after the declaration of the result of the election, but this shall
not be construed to apply to any contest before the legislative assembly.
Section 10806. An application for filing a statement, payment of
a claim, or correction of an error or false recital in a statement filed,
or an action or proceeding to annul and set aside the election of any
person declared elected to an office, or to remove or deprive any person
of his office for an offense mentioned in this Act, or any petition to ex-
cuse any person or candidate in accordance with the power of the court
to excuse as provided in Section 10803 of this Code, must be made or
filed in the district court of the county in which the certificate of his
nomination as a candidate for the office to which he is declared nomi-
nated or elected is filed, or in which the incumbent resides.
Section 10807. A candidate nominated or elected to an office, and
whose nomination or election thereto has been annulled and set aside
for any offense mentioned in this Act, shall not, during the period fixed
by law as the term of such office, be elected, or appointed to fill any
232 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
office or vacancy in any office or position of trust, honor, or emolu-
ment under the laws of the State of Montana, or of any municipality
therein. Any appointment or election to any office or position of trust,
honor, or emolument, made in violation of or contrary to the provisions
of this Act shall be void..
Section 1080S. If any County Attorney shall be notified by any
officer or other person of any violation of any of the provisions of this
Act within his jurisdiction, it shall be his duty forthwith to diligently
inquire into the facts of such violation, and if there is reasonable
ground for instituting a prosecution, it shall be the duty of such County
Attorney to file a complaint or information in writing, before a court
of competent jurisdiction, charging the accused person with such offense :
if any County Attorney shall fail or refuse to faithfully perform any
duty imposed upon him by this Act, he shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall forfeit his office. It
shall be the duty of the County Attorney under penalty of forfeiture
of his office, to prosecute any and all persons guilty of any violation
of the provisions of this Act, the penalty of which is fine or imprison-
ment, or both, or removal from office.
Section 10S09. If, in any ease of a contest on the ground of illegal
votes, it appears that another person than the one returned has the
highest number of legal votes, after the illegal votes have been elimi-
nated, the court must declare such person nominated or elected, as the
case may be.
Section 10810. Any elector of the state, or of any political or mu-
nicipal division thereof, may contest the right of any person to any
nomination or office for which such elector has the right to vote, for
any of the following causes :
1. On the ground of deliberate, serious, and material violation of
any of the provisions of this Act, or of any other provisions of the law
relating to nominations or elections.
2. When the person whose right was contested was not, at the time
of the election, eligible to such office.
3. On account of illegal votes or an erroneous or fraudulent couni
or canvass of votes.
Section 10811. Nothing in the third ground of contest specified in
the preceding section is to be so construed as to authorize a nomina-
tion or election to be set aside on account of illegal votes, unless it
appear, either that the candidate or nominee whose right is contested
had knowledge of or connived at such illegal votes, or that the number
of illegal votes given to the person whose right to the nomination or
office is contested, if taken from him, would reduce the number of his
legal votes below the number of votes given to some other person for
the same nomination or office, after deducting therefrom the illegal
votes which may be shown to have been given to such other person.
Section 10812. When the reception of illegal votes is alleged as a
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 233
cause of contest, it shall bo sufficient to state generally that in one
or more specified voting precincts Illegal votes were given to the per-
son whose nomination or election is contested, which, if taken from
him, will reduce the number of his legal votes below the number of
legal votes given to some other person for the same office : but no
testimony shall be received of any illegal votes, unless the party con-
testing such election deliver to the opposite party, at least, three days
before such trial, a written list of the number of illegal votes, and by
whom given, which he intends to prove on such trial. The provision
shall not prevent the contestant from offering evidences of illegal vote
not included in such statement, if he did not know and by reasonable
diligence was unable to learn of such additional illegal votes, and by
whom they were given, before delivering such written list.
Section 10813. Any petition contesting the right of any person to a
nomination or election shall set forth the name of every person whose
election is contested, and the grounds of the contest, and shall not
thereafter be amended, except by leave of the court. Before any pro-
ceeding thereon the petitioners shall give bond to the state in such sum
as the court may order, not exceeding Two Thousand Dollars, with not
less than two sureties, who shall justify in the manner required of
sureties on bail-bonds, conditioned to pay all costs, disbursements, and
attorney's fees that may be awarded against him if he shall not pre-
vail. If the petitioner prevails, he may recover his costs, disbursements,
and reasonable attorney's fees against the contestee. But costs, disburse
ments, and attorney's fees, in all such cases, shall be in the discretion
of the court, and in case judgment is rendered against the petitioner,
it shall also be rendered against the sureties on the bond. On the filing
of any such petition, the clerk shall immediately notify the judge of
the court, and issue a citation to the person whose nomination or of-
fice is contested, citing them to appear and answer, not less than three
nor more than seven days after the date of filing the petition, and the
court shall hear said cause, and every such contest shall take precedence
over all other business on the court docket, and shall be tried and dis-
posed of with all convenient dispatch. The court shall always be deemed
in session for the trial of such cases.
Section 10814. The petitioner (contestant) and the contestee may
appear and produce evidence at the hearing, but no person, other than
the petitioner and contestee, shall be made a party to the proceedings
on such petition ; and no person, other than said parties and their at-
torneys, shall be heard thereon, except by order of the court. If more
than one petition is pending, or the election of more than one person
is contested, the court may, in its discretion, order the cases to be heard
together, and may apportion the costs, disbursements, and attorney's
fees between them, and shall finally determine all questions of law and
fact, save only that the judge may, in his discretion, impanel a jury to
decide on questions of fact. (In the case of a contested nomination or
election for senator or representative in the legislative assembly, or for
senator or representative in congress, the court shall forthwith certify
234 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
its findings to the Secretary of State, to be by him transmitted to the
presiding officer of the body in question.) In the ease of other nomina-
tions or elections, the court shall forthwith certify its decision to the
board or official issuing certificates of nomination or election, winch
board or official shall thereupon issue certificates of nomination or
election to the person or persons entitled thereto by such decisions. If
judgment of ouster against a defendant shall be rendered, said judg-
ment shall award the nomination or office to the person receiving next
the highest number of votes, unless it shall be further determined in
the action, upon appropriate pleading and proof by the defendant, that
some act has been done or committed which would have been ground in
a similar action against such person, had he received the highest number
of votes for such nomination or office, for a judgment of ouster against
him ; and if it shall be so determined at the trial, the nomination or
office shall be by the judgment declared vacant, and shall thereupon
be filled by a new election, or by appointment, as may be provided by
law regarding vacancies in such nomination or office. — Note : So much
of the above section as is enclosed in brackets was held unconstitutional
in State ex rel Smith vs. District Court, 50 Mont. 134.
Section 10815. In like manner as prescribed for the contesting of
an election, any corporation organized under the laws of or doing busi-
ness in the State of Montana may be brought into court on the ground
of deliberate, serious, and material violation of the provisions of this
Act. The petition shall be filed in the district court in the county where
said corporation has its principal office, or where the violation of law
is averred to have been committed. The court, upon conviction of such
corporation, may impose a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dol-
lars, or may declare a forfeiture of the charter and franchises of the
corporation, if organized under the laws of this state, or if it be a
foreign corporation may enjoin said corporation from further transacting
business in this state, or by both such fine and forfeiture, or by both
such fine and injunction.
Section 10816. Whoever violates any provision of this Act, the pun-
ishment for which is not specifically provided by law, shall on convic-
tion thereof be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not
more than one year, or by a fine of not more than Five Thousand
Dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Section 10817. Proceedings under this Act shall be advanced on
the docket upon request of either party for speedy trial, but the court
may postpone or continue such trial if the ends of justice may be
thereby more effectually secured, and in case of such continuance or
postponement, the court may impose costs in its discretion as a con-
dition thereof. No petition shall be dismissed without the consent of
the County Attorney, unless the same shall be dismissed by the court.
No person shall be excused from testifying or producing papers or docu-
ments on the ground that his testimony or the production of papers or
documents will tend to criminate him; but no admission, evidence or
paper made or advanced or produced by such person shall be offered
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 235
or used againsl him in any civil «>r criminal prosecution, or any evidence
that is the direct result of such evidence or information that he may
have so given, except in a prosecution for perjury committed in such
testimony.
Section 1081S. A petition or complain! filed under the provisions
of this Act shall he sufficient if it is substantially in the following
form :
In the District Court of the Judicial District.
for the County of , State of Montana.
A. B. (or A. 15. and C. D.), Contestants, vs. E. F., Contestee.
The petition of contestant (or contestants) above named alleges:
That an election was held (in the State, District. County, or City of
), on the day of
, A. D. 19 , for the (nomination of a candidate
for) (or election of a) (state the office).
That — and were
candidates at said election, and the Board of Canvassers has returned
the said as being duly nominated (or elected)
at said election.
That Contestant A. B. voted (or had a right to vote, as the case
may be) at said election (or claims to have had a right to be returned
as the nominee or officer elected or nominated at said election, or was
a candidate at said election, as the case may be), and said Contestant
C. D. (here state in like manner the right of each contestant).
And said contestant (or contestants) further allege (here state facts
and grounds on which the contestants rely).
Wherefore, your contestants pray that it may be determined by the
court that said ., was not duly
nominated (or elected), and that said election was void (or that the
said A. B. or C. D., as the case may be) was duly nominated (or
elected), and for such other and further relief as to the court may seem
just and legal in the premises.
Said complaint shall be verified by the affidavit of one of the peti-
tioners in the manner required by law for the verification of complaints
in civil cases.
Section 10819. The statement of expenses required from candidates
and others by this Act shall be in substantially the following form :
State of Montana, County of ss.
I, , having been a candidate (or
expended money) at the election for the (State) (District) (County)
(City) of , on the day of ,
A. D., 19 , being first duly sworn, on oath do say: That I have
carefully examined and read the return of my election expenses and
236 ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA
receipts hereto attached, and to the best of my knowledge and belief
thai return is full, correct, and true.
And I further state on oath that, except as appears from this re-
turn, I have not. and to the best of my knowledge and belief no person,
nor any club, society, or association has on my behalf, whether autho-
rized by me or not, made any payment, or given, promised, or offered
any reward, office, employment, or position, public or private, or valu-
able consideration, or incurred any liability on account of or in respect
of the conduct or management of the said nomination or election.
And I further state on oath that, except as specified in this re
turn, I have not paid any money, security or equivalent for money, nor
has any money or equivalent for money, to my knowledge or belief,
been paid, advanced, given, or deposited by any one to or in the hands
of myself or any other person for my nomination or election, or for
the purpose of paying any expenses incurred on my behalf on account
or in respect of the conduct or management of the said election.
And I further state on oath that I will not, except so far as I
may be permitted by law, at any future time make or be a party to
the making or giving of any payment, reward, office, position, or em-
ployment, or valuable consideration, for the purpose of defraying any
such expenses or obligations as herein mentioned for or on account ,of
my nomination or election, or provide or be a party to the providing
of any money, security, or equivalent for money for the purpose of
defraying any such expense.
( Signature of Affiant)
Subscribed and sworn to before me by the above-named ,
on the . day of , A. D. 19
Attached to said affidavit shall be a full and complete account of
the receipts, contributions, and expenses of said affiant, and of his
supporters of which he has knowledge, with numbered vouchers for all
sums and payments for which vouchers are required as to all moneys
expended by affiant. The affidavit and account of the treasurer of
any committee or any political party or organization shall be, as nearly
as may be, in the same form, and so also shall be the affidavit of any
person who has received or expended money in excess of the sum of
Fifty Dollars to aid in securing the nomination or election or defeat of
any candidate, or of any political party or organization, or of any
measure before the people.
Section 10820. Any person who shall knowingly make any false
oath or affidavit where an oath or affidavit is required by this law
shall be deemed guilty of perjury and punished accordingly.
ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA 237
INDEX
Code
No. Page
ABSENT ELECTORS — See "Voting" 715-735 75-82
Apportionment and Representation Art. VI 9
44 18
Arrest, Electors free from 541 27
Ballot, All Elections to be by Art. IX 13
539 26
Ballot Box 604-605-606 45
Ballots and Supplies, Delivery of to Judge of Precinct 603 45
BALLOTS:
Blank spaces must be left on 683 69
Cities and Towns, expense is charge against 677 67
City Clerks to Prepare, when 686 70
Color and Quality of printed 681 67
Contents 682 68
Correction by Pasters 680 67
County Clerk Must Provide 678 67
Expense is County Charge 677 67
Form of 681 68
Margin required 683 69
Name may be written in 678 67
Nominee of two parties, on what ballot printed 682 68
Not counted unless officially printed 678 67
Parties, how placed on 681 68
Pasters for Vacancies after printing of 680 67
Preparation and Form 677-687 67-70
Printed in black 681 68
Printing and Distribution 677 67
Quantity for precincts having no registration 687 70
Quantity furnished precincts 687 70
Questions submitted, form and contents of 686 69
Record of number delivered to precincts 687 70
Size, uniform 681 68
Stub, consecutively numbered .'. 684 69
Stub, contents 684 69
Uniform printing of all 685 69
Vacancy after printing 680 67
Voter may write name, or paste sticker
over other name 684 69
"Writing or pasting candidates name on the ballot 678 67
Bond Issue — Restraining action, prohibited
after what time. 9040 214
Bonds — See Fire Districts, Cities and Towns 5149 173
Bridge Construction — Bond Issue and Tax Levy for 4713-14 156
Bridges, Public — Bonds for 1711 137
CANVASS OF RETURNS:
Abstract of Returns, to State Board 801-802 95
Ballots:
Counting of 775, 778 90, 91
Defective 777 91
Destruction, after count, of Excessive Procedure 776 91
Rejected, Stamping of 780 91
Stringing and sealing 779 91
Board of County Canvassers 790 93
County Clerk is Clerk of 791 93
Membership Vacancy, how filled 791 93
Certificates of Election 797, 805 94, 96
Commissions to those elected 805 96
County 792 93
Board certificate where no precinct returns 7 92 93
Date of County Canvass 790 93
Entry of Result 794 94
How made 793 94
Messenger for, and expenses 792 93
Highest vote elects 795 94
Judges returns to County Clerk 782 92
Messenger for State returns when, expenses 804 95
Penalties 808 96
Poll Books, Signing of 781 92
Poll Lists, checking of 775 90
Precinct Judges 774 90
238 ELECTION LAWS OT MONTANA
Code
No. Page
Precinct Records, Retention by County Clerk —
how long 786-789 92-93
Records, Delivery to Precinct Judges 784 92
Representatives voted for in more than one County,
procedure 798-800 94-95
Result may not be withheld for defect or informality.... 806 96
Retention by Judge of record for inspection purposes.. 783 92
Returns, delivery to County Clerk by whom 785 92
State Board of Canvassers and Duties 803-804 95
Tally Sheets, use 778 91
Tie vote, recount, and certificate to Governor 7 96 94
Census — State, Legislature shall provide for Art. VI 9
Challenges for Registration 573 37
CITIES AND TOWNS:
Abatement of Smoke Nuisance - 5292-5299 180-181
Absent Electors may vote how 715-735 75-82
Aldermen 5003-5005 160
Annexation of Contiguous 4979 164
Ballots, prepared by City Clerk 687 70
BOND ISSUE:
No election called except upon petition 1252 129
Restraining action forbidden after what time 9040 214
Sufficiency of petition 1252 129
BONDS:
Issue of refunding, procedure 1 176
For fire districts 5150 174
Of — election procedure Chap. 160 176-180
Petition and election procedure 6-12 177-1S0
Voter's qualifications 1253 129
Canvass of Returns 5012 167
Certificates of Election 5012 167
City Clerk, duties of 5067 172
Classification and organization 4961-4979 163-165
Commission Form of Government Chap. 13 182
5366-5399 182-193
Chap. 137 193
Abandonment of, procedure 537 9-5398 192-193
Ballots, form of 5369 183
Ballots, form and printing 5377 186
Bond for Mayor and Councilmen 5377 188
Canvass of Election returns 5368, 5377 183, 187
Certificate of Mayor 5370 183
Corrupt practice, penalty 5378-5379 188
ELECTION:
Calling of 5367 1S2
Of first officers 5371 183
Of Mayor and Councilmen Chap. 13 182
Proclamation 5368 183
Electors qualifications 5377 188
Fees for filing nominating petitions Chap. 137 193
Laws which govern 5373 184
Nominating petition, form, filing of 5377 185-186
Oath and qualification of elected officers 5377 188
OFFICERS:
Election of, and canvass of returns 5371-5372 183-184
Must be nominated at Primary 5377 185
Of 5374 184
Ordinance by petition 5395 190
ORDINANCES:
Must be voted by people, when 5388 180
Passing of 5388 188-189
Referendum upon 5396 191-192
Suspension of proposed 5396 192
When effective 5396 191
Petition for reorganization 5367 182
Petitions, time for filing 5377 185
Property rights vest in 5373 184
Publication of candidates for office 5377 186
Removal of officers 5394 189
Returns, publication of 5377 187
Second submission to electors, when 5370 183
Terms of office and qualification date 5375 184
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA 239
Code
No. Page
Terms of office expire when 5376 184
Territorial limits 5373 184
Vacancies, how filled 5374 184
Commission-Manager Form of Government 5400-5520 193-^10
Abandonment of plan, procedure 5514-5516 208-209
Acceptance of passes, etc., forbidden 5413 198
Adoption of plan, election procedure 5408 195
Annexation to municipal district 5408 195
Ballot, nominees to be placed on 5415 200
Ballots:
Form 5403, 5415 194, 200
Form, printing, delivery 5415 199-200
Canvass of returns 5403, 5415 194, 200
Certificate of Mayor 5404 194
Challenge procedure 5415 200
City Manager, appointment 5410 196
Commission, composition of 5410 196
"Commission-Manager Plan" 5410 196
Commission members, qualifications of 5413 197
Commission, seat vacated when 5448 207
Commissioners :
Assume duties when 5448 207
Qualifications and term of office 5411 197
Conduct of election 5403 194
County Seat may furnish office quarters, when 5520 210
Flection:
Date of 5417 201
First officers, proclamation and procedure 5405-5406 194
For annexation to municipal district — 5408 195
Electors, who are '. 5415 200
Expense accounts, filing of 5418 201
Franchises, grant of 5496-5500 208
Incorporated cities, rights and powers 5409 196
Laws and ordinances which apply 5407 195
Mayor:
Head of municipality 5444 206
Vacancy, how filled 5444-5445 206-207
Who shall be 5444 206
Meetings and records are public 5448 207
Meetings of Commissioners when 5448 207
Meetings, special, called how 5448 207
Nominating petition, form, filing of 5414 198-199
Oath and Bond of Commissioners 5443 206
Officers must be nominated at Primary 5414 198
Officers, special election for first 5405-5406 194
Ordinance:
Effective when 5436, 5441 205, 206
For Bond issue 5442 206
Referendum on 5436-5442 205-206
Repeal of existing 5435 305
Submitted to Electors, when, procedure 5431-5434 204-205
Ordinances:
Conflict 5440 205
Enactment, procedure 5429-5431 203-204
Penalty, bribery 5427-5428 203
Petition to form 5401 193
Powrs, name, property, indebtedness, of group
communities coming under Act 5517-5519 209-210
Powers of Commission 5496-5500 208
Powers of incorporated cities and towns 5409 196
Primary Election, date of 5414 198
Proclamation for election 5402 193
Publication of candidates names 5414 198
Quorum of Commissioners 5446 207
Recall of Commissioners, procedure 5419-5426 201-203
Resubmission of question, when 5404 194
Rotation of names on ballot 5416 201
Rules, order of business and Journal 5448 208
Salaries of Commissioners 5447 207
Vacancies, how filled 5412 197
Veto, Mayor may not exercise 5444 206
Contracts 5074-5077 172-173
Courts 3 173
Direct Primary, application of law to 634 52
Election:
Ballots, a city expense 677 67
Calling, notice of and conduct 4962 163
240 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Code
No. Page
City Clerk must perform all duties 679 67
Date of 5003 166
Electors:
Qualifications 5010 167
Qualifications on indebtedness proposals Chap. 47 211
Fire Districts, bonding of, election procedure 5149-5150 173-175
Franchises 5074-5077 172
Free Public Libraries 5049-5051 168
Incorporation of 4961-4979 163-165
Indebtedness, submission to taxpayers Chap. 160 175-180
Initiative and Referendum 5058-5068 169-172
Ballots, form, canvass, returns 5065 171
City Clerk, duties of 5067 172
Election, proclamation of Mayor 5064 171
Law does not apply to what other ordinances 5068 172
Measure, effective when 5065 172
Ordinance, demand for, submission to voters 5061 171
Ordinance Petitions, percentage of signers 5058-5059 169-170
5062 171
Ordinances:
Effective when 5060 170
Emergency 5060 171
Proposed how 5058 169-170
Submission to people 5058 169-170
Suits to determine changes in 5058 169-170
When voted upon 5059 170
Petition form of 5067 172
Referendum, submitted when, percentage of signers.. 5062 171
Register, evidence of right of petitioner 5066 172
Special elections, Council may order when 5063 171
Voters qualifications 5066 172
Judges and Clerks of Election 5011 167
Levy, increase of, election procedure 5195-5199 175-176
Mayor, elected when, qualifications _ 5003-5004 166
Notice of completion of incorporation 4963 163
Office vacant, when 5013 167
OFFICERS:
And Elections 4995-5015 165-168
Charges against 5015 168
Council mav prescribe duties of 4997 165
Elected, term -, 5003, 5006 166
Election and qualification of 4963-4971 164
Oath of office 5013 167
Listed 4995-4997 165
Qualifications of 5007-5008 166
Removal 5015 168
ORGANIZATION 4961-4979 163-165
Census 4961 163
Number of inhabitants 4961 163
Petition, contents and filing 4961 163
Precincts, election 5011 167
PRIMARY
Date of 634 52
Filing of nominating petitions 634 52
Registration of Electors 5009 166-167
Tax for libraries 5049-5051 168
Term of office, begins when 5014 168
Tie vote, procedure 5012 167
Vacancies, how filled 5015 168
Voting places 5011 167
Wards 5001-5002 165
5011 167
clerks of Election— See "Judges and Clerks of Election"
Conduct of Elections 688-714 70-75
CONGRESS:
Members:
Certificate of election to 828 104
Election and vacancies 824 104
Nomination of 824 104
Vacancy, how filled 825 104
Vote canvassed, how 827 104
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
241
Code
No.
Congressional Districts 48
New County 48
Constitutional Amendments Sec. 8, Art. XIX
On ballot, how 103
Constitutional Convention Art. XIX
Contest of Elections 829
CONVENTIONS:
Date of County Chap. 12G
Date of State 6
Delegates to National, how elected Chap. 126
Expense of 8
Corrupt Practices Act 10773-10820
Actions filed where 10806
Actions, time for commencing 10805
Advertisements in newspapers, must show
by whom paid 10798
Ballot, applying for in name of other person 10795
Bets and Wagers by candidate 10794
Books of account open to whom 10777
Buttons, Badges, not worn when...... 10797
Candidate, convicted, may not hold office 10807
Candidate may not be asked for or offer
contributions, when 10789
Candidate's name not to be printed on ballot when 10801
Candidates, requests or demands on, prohibited 10789
Challenge of voter, entry in Poll Books 10792
and on Ballot 10794
Compensating Voter for expenses in attending Polls 10797
Complaints filed by whom and action upon 10779
Contest:
Bond 10813
Case shall take precedence 10813
Certification of decision 10814
Citation 10813
Costs 10813
Grounds for 10810
Petition 101518
10813
Procedure where more than one petition 10814
What parties may appear in 10814
Who elected after rejection of illegal votes 10809
Contributions:
As condition precedent to putting forward name
in caucus or convention 10789
By Corporations 10790
By holder of Public position, prohibited 107 85
Inviting or accepting 10785
Convention Credentials, transfer of for
money prohibited 10787
Copies of Act furnished to whom 10778
Corporations, proceedings against, penalties 10815
County Attorney, duty 10808
Court having Jurisdiction 10806
Delegate to Convention, Public officer may not be 10786
Election, inducement to accept or decline 10802
Expenditures, limited 10773--
Expense Statements:
Affidavit required 10779
And records of Political Committees 10777
By individuals in behalf of candidate 10777
Certified copies of 10782
Complaint as to 10779
Duty of officer 10780
Failure to file 10780
x..,. „ 10801
Filing of 10776
Form of 10819
Inspection 10779
Preservation of 10782
Publication of 10782
Public records 10782
Vouchers to be attached 10819
False affidavit, penalty 10820
Forfeiture of Office for violation of law 10803-4
Inducement to accept or decline nomination or election 10802
Page
19
20
17
23
17
108
102
103
102-103
103
220-236
231
231
228
228
227
223
228
232
225-226
230
226
227
228
228
224
233
233
233-234
233
233
232
235
233
233
233
232
226
226
225
225
225
223
234
232
231
225
230
220
224
222
223
224
223
224
224
230
222
235-236
223
224
225
224
236
236
230-231
230
242
ELECTION LAWS OE MONTANA
Code
No.
Inducing not be candidate 10788
Influencing voter, coercion 10793
Jurisdiction, Court may compel filing of statements.... 10781
Libel, Political-criminal 10800
Meaning of 10796
Measures, expense account by person sponsoring 10777
Name not printed on Ballot, when 10801
Newspaper Publisher, shall not print adver-
tisements, etc., except 10798
Nomination, inducement to accept or decline 10802
Nomination or election, not set aside, when 10811
Payment of money to undisclosed principal 10783
Penalty for Violation of Act r 10816
Personating other elector 10795
Pledge to vote for U. S. Senator, permitted 10784
Political Committees, Public officer may not
be member of 10786
Political Committees, records of 10777
Political literature, circulation of 10800
Proceedings under Act — Advancement, dismissal,
witness privileges 10817
Promises of appointment 10784
Public Officers — May make no contributions 10785
Solicitation of votes on Election Day 10799
Terms, definition of.... 10776
Treating 10791
Undue Influence and coercion 10793
Votes, reception of illegal, allegations, evidence 10812
Votes, who elected after rejection of illegal 10809
Vouchers in excess of $5.00 10777
Words defined 10775
COUNTIES:
Ballot, contents of 4394
Creation of:
Act does not apply, when 4407
Assessed valuation, fixed how 4391
Ballots, sample 4395
Board of Commissioners, appointed by Governor,
duties and powers 4397
Boundaries, determination 4393
By petition and election 4390-4407
Canvass of returns 4395
Cost of election, pro-rating 4398
Debts and assets, pro-rated 4390
Division into townships, road and school districts... 4394
Election officers, appointment 4394
Election proclamation and notice, signed by whom... 4394
Election Register furnished Election Boards 4394
Election supplies 4394
General election laws apply 4394
Judicial District of new 4396
Legislative representation 4405
Measure defeated, election can not be held
for two years 4395
Notices, posting of when no publication possible 4404
Officers:
Certificate of Election to 4395
Chosen, quality how, bonds of 4396
Enter upon duty, term 4395
Nomination of 4395
Penalties 4 406
Petition, filed where, contents, signers, affidavit,
hearing, publication and form of notice, bond of
petitioners 4393
Precincts of 4 394
Proclamation and notice of election 4394
Qualification of Voters 4394
Registration 4394
Resolution:
County Commissioners 4393
On result, filing of 4395
Seat:
Voting upon 4394
What towns qualified to be 4392
Sheriff, duty, fees 4397
Supplies for officers 4395
Page
225
227
224
229
228
223
230
228
230
232
225
234
228.
225
225
222
229
234
225
225
229
220
226
227
233
232
223
221
150-151
155
145
152
154
148-149
144-155
151
154
144
150
150
151
151
151
151
154
155
153
154-155
152
153
152
152
155
146
149
150
150
150
148
152
151
145
154
152
ELECTION LAWS OP MOOTTANA 243
Code
No. Page
Topographical Commission 4390
Witnesses and fees 4397
Floating indebtedness, funding of 1
Minimum area 4390
Bonds:
Ballots, form
. Conduct of Election 11
Election:
Calling 9
Canvass of Returns 14
Hours 10
Notice of 10
Officers 10
Percentage Electors required to authorize 13
Petition and Election, for 7-14
Petition, Consideration of 9
Petition for, form and proof, filing of 8
Resolution by Board of County Commissioners 14
Voter's qualifications 12
Borrowing 4717-22
Commissioner Districts 4
Commissioners :
Election and Term 4729
Election of 4
Government — Managerial Form 1-2
New:
Congressional District 48
Legislative member 46
Representative District 47
Office, who eligible to hold 4723
Officers, listed 4725
COUNTY SEAT:
Location of 437 8-89
Removal of 2
4369-77
Courts — Supreme and District Art. VIII
Delegates to National Conventions Chap. 126
DIRECT PRIMARY:
Abstract of Votes, preparation and delivery 655 62
Acceptance of Nomination, where name written on
ballot, and fee 640 56
Ballots and records, destruction of 646 58
Ballots:
Arrangement of and Notice 649 59
Destruction of blank 651 60
Forms, division into sets 651 59
How printed 651 60
Inclosing, sealing and delivery of 638 55
Number for each precinct 652 60
Printed separately for each Party 651 59
Sample 649 59
For Political Parties 652 60
How printed 652 60
Printed only by order of Clerk 652 60
Voting and deposit of, by Elector 651 60
Bribery, Penalty 667 66
Candidate, death of, what sections apply 647 58
Candidate excluded from fall ballot, when 640 56
Candidate names, arrangement on ballot 651 59
Candidates nominated, meeting at call of
Chairman, date 666 66
Canvassing Board, State, composition and duties 655 62
Canvass of Returns 654 61
Canvass of State Returns, when 655 62
Certificate of Nomination, by Governor 655 62
Certificate of nomination to successful contestee 661 64
Check lists — to be furnished Judges, when 650 59
Cities and Towns, application of law to 634 52
Committeeman, selection at passage of Act 664 65
Committeeman and Woman, selection of National, term 663 65
Committee Meeting, calling of 662 65
Committeemen:
Meeting and organization 662 65
Precinct, election, term 662 64
Vacancies 662 64
144
15-»
159
144
158
158
157
159
158
158
158
158
156
-159
157
156
-157
159
158
159-
-161
15
162
15
162
20
19
19
161
161
139-
-144
15
137-
-139
11
102-
-103
244 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Compensation Certificate by County Clerk
Contest Judgment
Contest, removal to Supreme Court
Contest, Service of Papers, and procedure to hear
Contest, Subpoenas
Contesting: nomination
Counting and disposition of Ballots
Counting Ballots, audibly announced
Date of Nominating Election
Election certificates
Emergency law
Errors, how corrected
Expense of supplies and conduct of election,
paid how
Fee for filing Nominating Petitions
Forgery
General laws apply, when
Highest vote, elects
Independent candidate, can not use existing party name
Judge or Clerk of Election, Penalties
Mandamus
Messenger sent for returns, how paid
Names of candidates, rotation on ballot
Nominating petition, form of
Nominating petitions, filed where
Nomination, acceptance when name written on
Ballot, fee for
Nomination on more than one ticket, procedure
Nominations:
By new Parties and Parties under 3%
By Petition, arrangement, certification and
posting of
Prohibited under Section 612
Nominees, notification
Notice of Election, contents, printing and posting
Party name, exclusive right to
Penalties
Penalties for unlawful act by candidate
Petitions for nomination filed when and where
Platform, of State, when
Poll Books, Sealing and delivery of
Primary Nominating Election, date of
Proclamation of nominations
Public records, what are
Records, preservation of
Register and check list, to be furnished Judges when..
Register, Entry of nominations
Register of candidates
Registers, are Public Records
Returns:
By Judges
From precinct, opened on order of Court
Secretary of State, shall send for, when
Signed and posted at polling place
Telegraphing
Rotation of names on ballot
State Central Committee, filing of names of Com-
mitteemen with National Committee
Suppression of petitions
Tally sheets, form and distribution
Tally sheets, sealing and delivery of
Telegraphing returns
Tie vote, how decided
Tie vote, how settled
Vacancy, how filled
What Parties may participate in
Writing name on ballot, how counted
District Courts
DISTRICTS:
Representative, changed when
Representative
Senatorial
Senatorial, new counties
Code
No.
Page
654
61
661
64
661
64
660
63
661
64
659
63
636
53
637
53
632
51
654
61
635
52
656
62
650
59
640
56
669
66
631
51
668
66
67 0
67
654
61
639
55
65S
63
656
63
657
63
651
59
641
56
640
56
640
56
651
60
639
55
648
58
639
55
654
61
633
51
639
53
658
63
665
65
644
57
666
66
638
55
632
51
655
62
646
58
646
58
650
59
654
61
645
57
646
58
636
53
638
55
657
63
637
54
657
63
651
59
663
65
669
66
637
53
638
55
657
63
654
61
655
62
647
58
639
55
651
60
12
11
3
10
4
8
4
8
4
10
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA
245
Code
No.
ELECTION:
Certificates, issuing of 4516
Highest number of votes, elects 13
Proclamations 533-536
ELECTION RETURNS:
By Election Judges 6ii!i
Cards and forms to be furnished by County Clerk 608
Posting at Polling place 610
Election Supplies, supplied by County Commissioners 4515
ELECTIONS:
Free and open Art. Ill
General, Date of 531
Special, Date of 532
To be by Ballot : 539
Elective Franchise, Crimes against 10747-10772
Elective Frauds and Offences 10747-10772
Aiding or abetting in 10756
Alterations in ballots or returns 10752
Appointment, promise of 107 62-10763
Ballot, fraudulent use of 10749
10758
Ballots, deposit without official stamp 10759
Ballots, inspecting or marking by Judges or Clerks 10753
Betting on Elections 10767
Bribery, Legislative Caucuses 10764
Bribery, what constitutes, penalty 107 69
Duty, refusal to perform by officer, felony 10747
Electioneering on Election Day 10759
Election voided when 10772
Electors, intimidating 10757
Employers, unlawful acts of 10770
Fines, disposition of collected 10771
Furnishing money for electors 10761
Nomination certificates, altering or destroying 10758
Offences on Election Day 10760
Penalties 10768
Procuring of registration or voting 10751
Public Meetings, attempt to prevent 10765
Public Meetings, disturbing 10766
Registration, fraudulent, penalty 10748
Returns:
Alteration of 10755
Forging or counterfeiting 10754
Manipulating 10749
Threats to Electors 10757
Voting, fraudulent 10749
Voting or Registering 10750
ELECTORS:
Ineligibles 8
Free from arrest 4
541
Insane persons, etc., can not vote 543
Military duty 5
Qualifications and Disabilities of 540
Qualifications of 2
Executive Department Art. VII
Failure of elections, proceedings 809-812
Fire Districts — See Cities and Towns 5149-50
General Election, Time for Holding 531
Government, Legislature may provide for County and City 7
Government of Counties 4723-30
Indebtedness, Limitation Sec. 5, 6, Art. XIII
Initiative and Referendum
Constitutional requirements Art. V
Canvass of returns 106
County Clerk, duties of 101
102
103
105
Effective, when 108
Pamphlet copies, printing and distribution 105
Penalties 107
Page
156
14
25-26
46
46
46
155
7
25
25
26
214-220
214-220
215
215
217
214
216
216
215
218
217
218-19
214
216
220
216
219
220
217
216
216
218
215
217
217
214
215
215
214
216
214
215
13
13
27
27
13
26
13
10
96-97
173-175
25
17
161-162
14
20-25
7
24
21
22
23
24
25
24
25
246
ELECTION LAVS OP MONTANA
Code
No.
Petition, form 99-100
Petitions, who may sign 108
Proclamation by Governor 102
107
Secretary of State, duty concerning 101
102
103
105
Voting 104
Instructions Card, preparation and posting 607
JUDGES AND CLERKS OF ELECTION:
Compensation 59
Number and how appointed, and notified 587-590
592-593
Oath of Office 596
Oaths, may administer 597
Precinct — Election notices mailed to 594
-Posting of 595
Judicial Departments Art. VIII
Judicial Districts 12
13
Number of Judges, Vacancies, Districts 8812-8813
Chap. 91
Judicial Officers, Election, term, vacancies 8790-8798
Justices of the Peace 8833-8838
Justices of Supreme Court and Judges of
District Court — non-partisan, election of Chap. 182
LAWS:
Local or special, prohibited 26
Publication of pamphlet copies of Election 807
Legislative authority Art. Ill
LEGISLATURE:
Apportionment and Membership 45
Census, provide for Art. VI
Composition of 4
Local or special laws prohibited 26
Representatives :
Qualifications 3
Term of 2
Senators:
Qualifications 3
Term of 2
Vacancies 45
Libraries, free 5049-5051
542
Military Duty, Electors exempt from 5
Military Service, Voting rights not lost when in 563, 565
Municipal Courts — Judges, election of Chap. 177
National Conventions, Delegates to Chap. 126
Naturalization Papers, Exhibit of at Polls, when 559
Nomination of Candidates — See also "Direct Primary"
Nomination of Candidates by Convention or Petition 612-618a
Certificate:
Certified how 613
Filed where 614
618
Limited to one candidate each 616
NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES:
Challenges 627
Convention:
Candidates for Judge can not be nominated by 9
Or Primary defined 612
Declining Nomination 620
Error in publication, how corrected 622
Fees for filing certificates 618a
Fraudulent voting 628
Influencing, deterring Voter 629
Judges at Caucus, appointment and duties 625, 626
Names certified for ballot, when 619
Nominations, are public records 617
Nominee, can accept only one nomination 616
Page
20
25
22
25
22
22
22
24
23
46
42
42
42
43
43
43
43
11
11
12
212-213
213
211-212
213
97-100
9
96
7
IS
9
8
9
8
8
8
8
9
168
27
13
34
173
102-103
32
46
46
47
48
47
56
99
46
48
49
48
50
50
49-50
48
47
47
ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA 247
Code
No. I 'age
Penalties 630 50
Petition signed by Electors, contents 615 47
Preservation of certificates, how long 617 47
Vacancies, how filled 621 48
Who may vote 623-624 49
Nbn-Partisan Election of Judges Chap. 182 97-100
Arrangement of candidates name on ballot 5 98
Ballot, Voter to be furnished with separate 7 98
Ballots, Judicial Primary 6 98
Ballots, stubs, etc., disposition after close of election.. 8 99
Candidate's name cannot appear on General Ballot
unless nominated at regular Primary election 9 99
Canvass of returns 8 99
Certification of names of candidates 5 98
Endorsement of candidate by party prohibited 13 100
Fee for petition 3 98
Form of petition 3 97
Judicial ballot 12 100
Nominating petition filed where 3 98
Nominations by the Governor, when 11 100
Nominees, who shall be 9 99
Political name of any party not to appear 6 98
Register, entry of names in 4 98
Tie vote, procedure 10 99
Vacancy, filled how 11 99
Voting machine, procedure 14 100
OFFICE:
Civil, who capable of holding 410 25
Township listed 4726 161
Who may hold District or Township 4724 161
OFFICERS:
Clerk of District Court 18 12
Clerk of Supreme Court Sec. 8, Art. VIII 11
County and Township, when elected 4728 162
County Attorney, Qualifications, election 19 12
County, list of to be elected 5 16
District Judges, election, term 12 11
4730 162
Executive, election, qualification, residence Art. VII 10
Judicial, election, term, qualifications Art. VIII 11
Justice of the Peace 20 12
4730 162
Legislature may provide for other 6 17
Requirements as to residence 7 13
Vacancies, filled how 34 12
Who eligible as public 11 14
Party Nominations by Direct Vote — See "Direct Primary"
Penalties 611 46
POLL BOOKS:
Commissioners must furnish 598 43
Distribution 599 43
Form of 600 43
Printing 568 35
Rejecting for want of form forbidden 601 44
POLLS:
Proclamation by Judges of opening and closing of 690-691 70
Time of opening and closing 689 70
PRECINCTS:
Boundaries of 545 27
Changing boundaries, when, numbering 546 27
City Council to certify boundaries and changes 547 27
Consolidation for voting machine purposes 7 59 84
Establishment or change of Election 4465 15".
Indian Reservation 552 28
Location of house for holding Election 550-551 28
Map of boundaries filed 548-549 28
Notices of Election and Posting 594 43
248
ELECTION LAWS OE MONTANA
Code
No. Page
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS:
Accounts, audited and paid by whom 823 102
Ballots by 819 101
Canvass of Vote .' 814 101
Certificates of Election 815 101
Chosen how 813 101
List of all persons voted for 820 101
Lists, transmittal of - 821 102
Meeting of 816 101
Mileage and per diem 822 102
Names of Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees
to appear on ballot, how 813 101
Nomination of Chap. 126 102-103
Vacancy filled how 817 101
Vote for President and Vice-President 818 101
Proclamations, Election 533-536 25-26
Publication of Measures to be voted upon 538 26
Questions for Voters, publication of 538 26
Recount of Votes Chap. 27 104-108
Application to Court for 105
Ballots, disposition after 4 107
Cause sufficient when 2 105
Certificate of Election upon 4 107
Certificate of Election, void when 6 107
Compensation of Judges withheld 7 107
Expense:
Deposit of by applicant 4 106
How established 4 106
Refund of deposit upon 4 106
Hearing 1 105
In what precincts 4 106
Judges, illness of 3 105
Jurisdiction, no loss of, when 105
Method and procedure in 4 106
Only in what precincts 5 107
Order for 1 105
Service of result 4 107
REFERENDUM — See "Initiative and Referendum"
REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS:
Action to compel, plaintiffs, defendants 577 40
After books closed 569 36
Cancellation of Cards 570 36
Certificate of Error 579 40
Certificate of, to Secretary of State 566 34
Challenge 573 37
Challenge and examination of one voting 584 41
Change of residence 560 32
Close of 566 34
Compensation to County Clerk for list 571-572 37
"County Clerk," construed how 580 41
County Commissioners to provide supplies and help 586 42
Deputy Registrars, who are 557 31
Disabled, may register, how 556 30
Duty County Clerk on passage of Act 564 34
Election, defined 582 41
Elector, defined 581 41
Elector transfer from other County, affidavit 561 32
Freeholders certificate as to elector 576 40
General Law 553-586 28-42
Hours for 558 31
Lists of, printing and posting 567 35
May not vote if name not registered 578 40
Militia, members may vote without registration, when 565 34
Must sign register when voting 576 39
Naturalization by Election Day, challenge
requirement 559 31
Naturalized citizen applying for 57 5 39
Omission of name from 579 40
Penalties 583, 585 41
Poll Book, printing 568 36
Posting notice of closing of 566 35
Publication of closing 566 34
Registry book and card index 554 28
Registry book, Secretary of State to designate form of 554 29
ELECTION LAWS OE MONTANA 249
Code
No. Page
Registry cards, numbered, classified, Tiled how 558 31
Removal of non-voters, when 562 33
Re-regist ration 562 34
Residence qualification by Election Day 559 31
Residence, rules for determining 574 38
Supplies and help 586 42
War Veterans, do not lose registration when 563 34
Who may register 555 30
Residence 3 13
Not gained by military duty 6 13
Rights, Constitutional, declaration of Art. Ill 7
Road construction, bond issue and tax levy for 4713-4714 156
Road District, special election procedure 1664-1667 136-137
School District Officers, separate elections held for
Sec. 10, Art. XI 14
School Matters 931-1015 108-113
Ballot, form of 995 110
Board members, how nominated in 2nd and 3rd
class districts 988 109
Bonding District, special election for 1014 112
Bonds:
Amount, term, date of election, fixed by trustees 10 126
Ballots, preparation and form 11 128
Canvass of election by Trustees 15 129
Conduct of election 13 129
Election:
Only upon petition 1252 129
Procedure 8-15 125-129
Who may vote 12 128
Issue:
Restraining action forbidden after what time 9040 214
Without election, procedure 6 125
List of registered electors 12 128
Notice of election 10 127
Percentage of electors to authorize 14 129
Petition:
Consideration by Trustees 10 126
For election 8 125
Form, contents, filing, and proof 9 125
Poll books, preparation and charge for 12 128
Registration of electors 12 128
Resolution for issue of 15 129
School Districts Chap. 147 125-129
Who may vote ; 1253 129
Budget System, School Districts 7 135
Buildings, construction or removal, limitation on
School Board 1015 113
Canvass of votes 996 110
Certificate of Election 996 111
Challenge procedure 1003 112
Clerk of Board, vacancy 1000 112
Compensation Judges and Clerks of election 1004 112
Consolidation of School Districts 1034 113
et seque et seque
Certification of election result 1034 113
Petition and notice of election 1034 113
Voting shall be by ballot 1034 113
County Free High, Validation of 36 133
County High Schools:
Abolishment procedure 19-25 131-133
Validation of issued bonds 34 133
Validation of location and establishment 35 133
County Superintendent of Schools:
Qualifications 10 14
Term 951 108
County Unit System of Rural School, election
to create 1042 115
Districts, Electors qualifications on indebtedness Chap. 47 211
Elections, when and where held 987 108
Expenses of election 1004 112
High school, bonds for buildings, etc., submission
of question and procedure 12-15 130-131
Informality not to vitiate election 996 111
Judges 989 109
Appointment 994 110
250 ELECTION LAWS OP MONTANA
Code
No. Page
Vacancy, how filled 994 110
Junior High, authority to establish, procedure 45 133
New districts:
Appointment of trustees 1034 113
How created 1034 113
Nomination prerequisite to election in
first class districts 990 109
Notice of election, posting or publication 992 110
Polling places, designated when 991 109
Poll list !'9t; 110
Poll open when 989 109
993 110
Posting of notices 989 109
Powers of school board 1015 113
Rural School Districts:
Annual meeting, when held, and for what purpose 1047 121
Appeal by patrons 1044 118
Board of Trustees, ex-officio members 1042 116
Bond issue to pay warrant indebtedness 1046 121
Boundaries 1041 114
Building and Furnishing Fund 1210 123
Buying, selling or exchanging property,
procedure 1173 122
Closing of schools, when 1044 119
Corporate Body 1044 120
County Commissioners duty 1041 114
County Unit System, creation of 1042 115
Created how 1041 114
Dissolution, classification after 1048 122
Dissolution, procedure 1048 122
Elections, how conducted 1043 117
Forfeiture of office 1047 121
Funds, general or special, to reduce levies 1045 120
Posting of notice for hearing 1041 114
Property distribution 1048 122
Redisricting of districts at passage of Act 1042 116
Salary schedule 1044 120
Second class:
How created, property of 1046 120
Indebtedness, apportionment 1046 121
Tax levy, to pay interest on debt 1046 121
Sinking Funds 1045 120
Site selected, requirements 1173 123
State Board of Land Commissioners,
may sell or rent to 1173 123
Tax levies 1044 119
Taxes, apportionment of 1044 119
Third Class, indebtedness 1045 120
Traveling expenses of trustees 1047 121
Trustees:
Appointment, term, election, etc 1042 116
Are electors of; term and election 1043 116
Duties — Budget, tax levy 1044 118
How nominated and elected 1043 116
Oath 1044 117
Qualification 1043 117
Warrants, countersigned by, form 1044 119
Sale of property, procedure 1014 113
Sites, trustees may select 1014 113
Special election for bonding district 1014 113
Superintendent of Public Instruction:
Qualifications 931 108
Term of office 931 108
Tally list 996 110
Taxation, extra, election procedure 1219-1223 123-124
Terms, construed 1040 114
Trustees:
As Canvassing Board 996 111
Election, how held 989 109
Eligibility 985 108
Forfeiture of office, when 997 111
May administer oaths 996 111
Number of 986 108
Removal from office 999 112
Suspension of 999 112
ELECTION LAWS Or MONTANA 251
Code
No. Page
Term of office and oath 997 111
Third class district, must be elected
from District 987 1II8
Vacancy declared by non-attendance 998 111
Vacancy in office 998 111
When majority of Board term expires,
procedure 1|H,I 112
Voters' qualifications 1002 112
Voting by ballot 989 109
Smoke nuisance, abatement of 5292-5299 180-181
Special election on tie vote, when 809 96
Supplies, election, to be furnished by
County Commissioners 602 44
Taxpayer, who is, at an election 544 27
Tie vote, procedure 809-812 96-97
Voting:
Absent Electors 715-735 75-82
Affidavit, form of 720 77
Application:
Blank delivered upon request and how 719 7 7
Delivery to County Clerk and checking 718 76
For ballot 716 76
Form 717 76
Ballot:
Delivery of and instructions 720 77
Duty of County Clerk in mailing 728 80
Envelope, not to be opened when deposited
in ballot box, except 731 81
Not to be delivered on Election Day 719 77
Numbers reserved for 725 79
To County Clerk 722 78
Voting of 7 21 77
Ballots:
Delivery to Judges when 723 78
Deposit of voted 727 80
Disposition of rejected 727 80
Must be official and regular 724 78
Rejected 725 79
Rejected when and for what reasons 727 80
Cities and Towns, procedure applies to 719 77
Elector:
May vote when 726 79
Must appear at polling place when —
penalty 734 82
Present in precinct on Election Day,
may vote 729-730 81
Endorsement by Judges 727 79
Judges duties 725, 727 79
Oath, officer administering must use
sealing wax 721 78
Penalties 732 81
Poll lists, notation and reservation of
ballots for 725 79
Record of ballots 724 78
Signatures, comparison 727 79
Stub, detached voids ballot, endorsement 727 80
Violation of provisions by officer or elector.... 735 82
Voting machines, procedure 7 33 81
Assistance, permissible, when 699 72
Ballot:
Deposit in box by Judges 702 73
How voted 696 72
Spoiled, procedure 698 72
Ballots, delivered to voter only by Judge 693 71
Booth, occupied by one person, time limit in 697 72
Booths 692 70
Certificate by Judges when assisting electors 699 73
Challenge 706-714 74
Electioneering prohibited on Election Day 693 71
Elector:
Shall announce name, etc., when 700 73
Shall return ballot, when unvoted, to Judge 693 71
Shall vote only official ballot 693 71
252 ELECTION LAWS OF MONTANA
Code
No. Page
Exhibiting voted ballot prohibited 693 71
Expenses, a public charge 694 71
Freeholders certificate 704 73
Guard rail 692 To
Guard rail, only voter permitted 693 71
Identification marks on ballot prohibited 693 71
Interference with voter prohibited 693 71
Judges:
And clerks of election, duties 695-714 72
Deposit of ballot in ballot box 702 73
Designated to deliver ballots 695 71
Must announce name of person 701 73
Machines 757-773 82-90
Assistance to electors, when and how 762 85
Ballots, number supplied 763 87
Ballots put upon 764 87
Bond issue to purchase 760 84
Certificates and supplies for 763 85-86
Compensation of mechanics, amount and by
whom paid 757 83
Consolidation of precincts for using 759 84
Demonstration of use, where 763 85
Diagram, mailing to voter 763 85
Election Board composed of whom 761 84
Examination and approval of, reports on 757 83
General laws apply 768 89
Instruction to Judges for use of 761 8 4
"Irregular Ballots" 765 88
Judges compensation for instruction 761 85
Locking at close of polls 766 88
May not be used until approved 757 83
Must be on exhibition 763 85
Must satisfy what requirements 758 83
Nomination for more than one office 763 88
On exhibition after count completed 7 67 88-89
Papers relating to preserved how long 767 88
Penalties 769-772 89-9o
Preparation for use 764 87
Publication of diagram before election 7 63 85
Purchased by whom 759 83
Qualification certificate to Judge 761 84
Returns 767 89
Room prepared for 761 84
State Board of Voting Machine Commissioners,
creation and duties of 757 82
Time limit for 761 84
Use of governed how 761 84
Validation of experimental use in elections 773 90
May commence, when 688 70
Must sign precinct register, when 57 6 39
Oath of elector under disability 699 73
Poll list, keeping of 705 74
Prohibited unless name on register 578 40
Qualifications for Art. IX 13
Register, delivery to County Clerk of 704 73
Removal of ballots before closing prohibited 693 71
Signing Register Book 704 73
Time limit in 697 72
Unofficial sample ballots prohibited at polling place 696 72
"Voted" entry on check list 703 73
Writing or pasting other names permitted 696 72
Women, right to vote on referred measures 12 14
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