Montana 2018 ballot measures

Elections in Montana, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
• Early voting: Oct. 9 - Nov. 5
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6

• Online registration: No
• Same-day registration: Yes
• Voter ID: Non-photo ID required
• Poll times: Polling places open between 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. and close at 8:00 p.m.

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Four statewide ballot measures were certified to appear on the ballot in Montana on November 6, 2018. Two of the ballot measures were approved and two were defeated.

HIGHLIGHTS

I-185 was defeated. I-185 would have extended the state's Medicaid expansion program and increased the tobacco tax to fund the program.

Voters rejected I-186, which would have established requirements for hard rock mine permits based on standards for water quality in land restoration plans.

Voters approved LR-129, which banned persons from collecting the election ballots of other people.

On the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRSS	LR-128	Taxes	Continues a six-mill property tax to fund the Montana University System for 10 years	a
LRSS	LR-129	Elections	Bans all but certain individuals from collecting another individual's ballot	a
CISS	I-185	Taxes and Tobacco	Extends Medicaid expansion, increases tobacco taxes to fund health programs	d
CISS	I-186	Natural resources	Restricts new hard rock mine permits, including water quality requirements for restoration plans	d

Getting on the ballot

In Montana, initiated constitutional amendments, initiated state statutes, and veto referendums can be put on the ballot through citizen signature petitions.

Petitioners were required to file the requisite number of signatures by June 22, 2018, for initiated state statues and initiated constitutional amendments. The law requires signatures for veto referendums to be submitted by six months after the legislature that passed the targeted bill adjourns.

Citizens were required to file at least 50,936 valid signatures for initiated constitutional amendments and at least 25,468 valid signatures for initiated state statutes and veto referendums.

To qualify a measure for the ballot in Montana, supporters must submit signatures directly to county officials, who are responsible for preliminary verification before passing the petition sheets on to the secretary of state. Thus, the status of some measures can remain unknown for some time after the signature submission deadline.

Montana did not have a regular legislative session in 2018. The Montana State Legislature can place legislative referrals on the ballot during the time it is in session.

Historical facts

See also: History of Initiative & Referendum in Montana and List of Montana ballot measures

• A total of 56 measures appeared on statewide ballots in Montana from 1996 to 2016.
• From 1996 to 2016, the number of measures on statewide ballots during even-numbered years ranged from two to eight.
• Between 1996 and 2016, an average of five measures appeared on the ballot in Montana during even-numbered election years.
• Between 1996 and 2016, about 62.5 percent (35 of 56) of the total number of measures that appeared on statewide ballots were approved, and about 37.5 percent (21 of 56) were defeated.

Summary of campaign contributions

See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2018

The following chart illustrates how much support and opposition committees had amassed in campaign contributions for each measure on the ballot:

Ballot Measure:	Support contributions:	Opposition contributions:	Outcome:
Montana I-186	$2,133,712.94	$5,550,990.93	d
Montana LR-128	$1,636,947.71	$3,749.52	a

Cost per required signature

See also: Ballot measure signature costs, 2018

The cost-per-required signature (CPRS) is a comparison of the amount of money spent on the petition drive to the number of signatures the state requires for an initiative to make the ballot. The following chart illustrates the CPRS for ballot initiatives.

A total of $469,113 was spent on the two successful initiative petition drives in Montana in 2018.

Ballot Measure:	Topic:	Petition company	Cost	Signatures	CPRS
Montana I-186	Environment	M&R Strategic Services	$249,981.63	25,468	$9.82
Averages:	N/A	N/A	$234,557	N/A	$9.21

Not on the ballot

See also: Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot

The list below contains measures that were proposed and reached a certain stage in the initiative or referral process, but did not make the ballot.

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment	Hunting	Amends the right to harvest wildlife section of the constitution
LRCA	State Executive Vacancies Filled by Member of Same Political Party Amendment	Elections	Requires governor pick a nominee to fill an elected executive vacancy from a list prepared by the political party of the vacating official
LRCA	Constitutional Definition of Person Amendment	Abortion	Defines person as humans at any stage of development, including fertilization or conception
LRCA	State Legislator Term Limits Amendment	Term Limits	Limit legislators to 16 years in any 20-year period as a state representative, state senator, or both
CISS	Montana Renewable Energy Requirement Initiative	Energy	Requires investor-owned electric utilities to increase procurement of renewable sources like wind and solar, gradually equaling an 80% renewable energy requirement by 2050
CICA	Resident and Citizen Requirements for Qualified Voters Initiative	Suffrage	Provides that non-U.S. citizens who have resided in Montana for less than 30 days cannot vote in federal, state, local, or school elections
CISS	Private Facilities in Public Schools and Government Buildings Restricted to Person's Sex Initiative	LGBT	Restricts access to bathrooms and locker rooms in public buildings and schools by a person's sex

State profile

Demographic data for Montana
	Montana	U.S.
Total population:	1,032,073	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	145,546	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	89.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	0.5%	12.6%
Asian:	0.7%	5.1%
Native American:	6.5%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.5%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	3.3%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	92.8%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	29.5%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$47,169	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	17%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Montana. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Montana

Montana voted Republican in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, three are located in Montana, accounting for 1.46 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Montana had two Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.10 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Montana coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Montana
• United States congressional delegations from Montana
• Public policy in Montana
• Endorsers in Montana
• Montana fact checks
• More...

See also

• 2018 ballot measures
• List of Montana ballot measures
• Laws governing the initiative process in Montana
• Montana Legislature