Montana legislation · 2025 Regular Session
Montana HB286: Revise election laws to provide for verification of an elector’s citizenship.
Status: Failed, May 20, 2025
What the bill says
A bill for an act requiring the secretary of state to record the united states citizenship status of registered electors; requiring the secretary of state to establish procedures to determine the citizenship status of new applicants in the event of a contingency; requiring proof of citizenship by new applicants in the event of a contingency; providing for the removal of electors who failed to demonstrate united states citizenship in the event of a contingency; providing rulemaking authority; amending sections 13-2-108, 13-2-109, 13-2-110, 13-2-402, and 61-14-301, mca…
From the engrossed text:
A BILL FOR AN ACT REQUIRING THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO RECORD THE UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP STATUS OF REGISTERED ELECTORS; REQUIRING THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO ESTABLISH PROCEDURES TO DETERMINE THE CITIZENSHIP STATUS OF NEW APPLICANTS IN THE EVENT OF A CONTINGENCY; REQUIRING PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP BY NEW APPLICANTS IN THE EVENT OF A CONTINGENCY; PROVIDING FOR THE REMOVAL OF ELECTORS WHO FAILED TO DEMONSTRATE UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP IN THE EVENT OF A CONTINGENCY; PROVIDING RULEMAKING AUTHORITY; AMENDING SECTIONS 13-2-108, 13-2-109, 13-2-110, 13-2-402, AND 61-14-301, MCA; AND PROVIDING EFFECTIVE DATES." BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA: Section 1. Section 13-2-108, MCA, is amended to read: "13-2-108. Rulemaking for statewide voter registration list. (1) The secretary of state shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of 42 U.S.C. 15483 and this chapter. (2) The rules must include but are not limited to: (a) a list of maintenance procedures, including new data entry, updates, registration transfers, and other procedures for keeping information current and accurate and for recording the citizenship statuses for registered electors; (b) proper maintenance and use of active and inactive lists; (c) proper maintenance and use of lists for legally registered electors and provisionally registered electors; (d) technical security of the statewide voter registration system; (e) information security with respect to keeping from general …