"Judges should be elected based on their record and qualifications, not politics.

CI-132 is a simple initiative that puts one sentence into Montana’s constitution: “judicial elections in Montana shall remain nonpartisan.” Montana began electing judges in nonpartisan elections in 1935 in response to Montana's powerful Copper Kings who were buying judges to rule in their favor. This simple measure protects that long-standing tradition so we can keep judges accountable to the people’s interests, not deep-pocketed political interests. 

Most Montanans interact with judges in family, traffic, civil, and criminal courts, which decide everything from child custody to employment and property disputes. There is no Republican or Democratic way to handle these cases - there’s only the law. Mixing politics with these cases will hurt Montanans who just want a fair and impartial hearing without worrying about politics. 

Politics doesn’t belong in our courts, but politicians in Helena recently passed HB39, a law allowing political parties to make financial contributions of nearly $90,000 to Montana judges. That’s a dangerous step toward making judges cater to political parties. We need to protect impartial courts and keep them accountable to the Constitution, not political parties and their money.” - Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts 

"...contrary to the false pretenses of the proposed text of CI-132, which reads “Judicial elections shall remain nonpartisan,” the Montana Republican Party (MTGOP) believes the current situation clearly demonstrates that so-called “nonpartisan” judicial elections do not remove politics from the judicial process, but serve only to obscure these politics from view, leaving ordinary voters in the dark under the false pretext of nonpartisanship; 

...further evidence of the partisan, Democrat nature of CI-132 is the coalition of organizations bankrolling efforts pushing for CI-132 in Montana. These include, among others: Montana Federation of Public Employees, ACLU of Montana, Catalyst Montana, Forward Montana, Fireweed Campaigns, and Big Sky 55+; all of which are organizations funded by a network of billionaire, out-of-state, far Left donors and dark money interests; the same network which spent $347,000 on Montana Supreme Court races; 

...the MTGOP believes Montana should retain judicial elections, but reform them to be free, fair, and honest by allowing candidates to run with a political designation if they so choose, in keeping with their basic First Amendment rights, as well as giving voters the knowledge they need to make an informed decision; 

...the Montana Republican Party desires to formalize its position regarding CI-132, which it sees as inimical not only to fair and honest elections, but to principles of representative government itself...” - Montana Republican Party