Montana Judge Rejects Lawsuit to Remove Lawmakers From Ballot

A Montana district court judge denied a last-minute lawsuit filed by Senate President Matt Regier and other plaintiffs seeking to disqualify Representative Llew Jones and House Majority Leader Steve Fitzpatrick from the November ballot. The legal challenge centered on constitutional term limits following an official opinion from Attorney General Austin Knudsen, which suggested the two lawmakers were ineligible for reelection.

The judge ruled against Regier, citing the timing of the filing, which occurred on the same day as the certification deadline. The court found that the plaintiffs failed to act sooner despite the certification process being established for years. While the judge noted the plaintiffs might be correct regarding the substance of the term limit argument, he determined that removing the candidates so close to the deadline would cause significant chaos.

As a result, Jones and Fitzpatrick will remain on the ballot. However, the underlying legal dispute regarding the correct interpretation of term limits continues in a separate case in Lewis and Clark County.