• " CI-126 is a constitutional citizen initiative that creates an open primary election so that all candidates of all parties appear on the same ballot in June and all voters can choose between them. The top four candidates, regardless of party, would then move on to the November election. Open primaries give every Montanan, regardless of their party affiliation, the freedom to vote for the candidate they believe best represents them for each office. More choice in our elections puts the power back in the hands of Montana voters where it belongs. Extreme partisanship, attack ads, and millions spent in special interest money threaten to make Montana’s elections just like every other state. Open primaries let voters choose the person, not the party, restoring Montana values and preserving what is good about Montana’s elections. Open primaries allow voters to pick who they believe is the best candidate for each race instead of restricting who they can choose from in primary elections. This gives Montana voters better choices and more voice in our elections." - Montanans for Election Reform 

• "It opens the primary so that all candidates appear on the same ballot. What this means is you won't have to choose your ballot based on your party affiliation, all the candidates would appear on one ballot. You would have access to vote for the people you want to vote for rather than the people the party wants you to vote for. After the primary, the top four vote getters for each office advance to the general election.” - Rob Cook, Former Montana State Representative    
  

• “CI-126 would establish “open primaries” in Montana. Open primaries allow voters to choose candidates from multiple political parties, rather than being limited to one party. The primary ballot would list all candidates from all parties and independents for each office. Voters would be able to vote for one candidate per office, and could vote, for example, for a Republican for one office and a Democrat for another.  Open primaries could increase voter turnout for primary elections.” - Nancy Leifer, President, League of Women Voters of Montana 
  

• “Under the Top 4 scheme, candidates can self-identify as conservatives, deceiving voters on their positions. Voters would have to conduct exhaustive research on an unknown/unlimited number of candidates in multiple races, and either guess who to vote for or simply not vote. Because of the confusion caused by the lack of party designation, many candidates will sneak into office with just 26% of the vote. In effect, most Montanans will become disenfranchised and unrepresented. "Top 4" primaries are costly to administer, discourage voting due to the time required to vote, impose longer polling place lines and tabulation times, require multi-page ballots, and make it more difficult to understand the principles of every candidate. The result — voter suppression and lower turnout.” - Don "K" Kaltschmidt, Chairman, Montana Republican Party 
  

"Reasons for rejecting ballot initiatives CI-126 & CI-127: 

• essentially implements a ranked-choice voting system; 

• would advance 4 candidates from the primary to the general, no matter how few votes they received in the primary; 

• 50% vote needed to win an election — basically creates run-off elections that could last until December; 

• political games? The sponsor has said that candidates can run for office with a party affiliation without needing the endorsement of the party; 

• outside dark-money groups are supporting these election changes; 

• Alaska is already looking to repeal its ranked-choice voting because it was a terrible experiment; 

• Idaho SOS warns voters of “delays and dollars” ranked choice voting would create if its ballot initiative passes; 

• Washington’s Democrat SOS is against RCV — not a Democrat vs Republican topic; simply bad for elections." 

- Lake County Montana Republicans 

• “I have serious concerns with the efforts funded with dark money to impose Ranked Choice Voting. It is a very deceptive practice and would undermine all of our efforts to secure our elections in Montana. It would also create serious voter confusion and frustration.” - Christi Jacobson, Montana Secretary of State

Committees formed to SUPPORT the Montana Top Four Primary Initiative (2024):

MONTANANS FOR ELECTION REFORM

Selected Contributions TO: Montanans for Election Reform* include:

• Article IV
• United America PAC
  
• Action Now Inc.
  
• Sixteen Thirty Fund

*TO VIEW COMMITTEE REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL REPORTS:

• Click on the link - this will bring you to the Montana SOS Public Access Search
  
• Click the "Committee Search" tab
• Enter the Committee Name (the name you clicked for the link) and select the "Election Year" 2024.
• Click the blue "Committe Search" button.  This brings you to the "Public Access Search Results"
• Check a box at the left side of the "Committee Name" then click on either "View Registration" or "View Finance Reports" (blue buttons)
• Check the box of the report you want to see and click the "View Report" button

Committees formed to OPPOSE the Montana Top Four Primary Initiative (2024):

NO COMMITTEE HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED TO OPPOSE THIS INITATIVE AS OF AUG 20, 2024.

Selected Contributions TO include:

• NA