A handful of Montana bills pushing for partisan judicial elections as part of a broader movement in the state were defeated this month. Montana law has required judicial elections to be nonpartisan for 90 years,

Judge Dan Wilson, a Flathead County District Court judge, lost to now-Justice Katherine Bidegaray by eight percentage points and about 45,000 votes in last November’s election

Some GOP lawmakers who opposed the bill said they would rather Montana move away from judicial elections in favor of merit-based appointments, which would be less susceptible to special interests.

A bill that would ask voters to vote on a constitutional amendment to define personhood as starting at conception sparked contentious debate in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

The Senate approved the bill on a 31-19 vote and it now faces one more vote before heading to the governor’s desk.

Flathead County District Court Judge Dan Wilson is again running for the Montana Supreme Court. Wilson said in an April 9 press release that he plans to run for the seat currently held by Justice Beth Baker,

The Montana Legislature held more marathon sessions on Friday, with a deadline looming on Saturday. Any bill that affects state revenues needs to pass either the House or Senate by the end of the day.

Barely a month before local school board elections, Lincoln County's election administrator is at home with no assurance of when she may return to work. Melanie Howell, hired to run the county's elections in May 2023 following the resignation of Paula Buff,

The Montana GOP's executive committee said they made the move because the nine senators “have undermined the Republican majority leadership and disregarded the will of Montana Republican voters.”

SB 379 ensures that tribal consultation in Montana isn’t treated as a checkbox. It requires state agencies to adopt formal consultation policies, appoint tribal liaisons, and provide cultural ...