Groups Weigh In on Montana Supreme Court Case of Minors Challenging Permit Laws

Oil Drilling

A Montana think tank and special interest groups have filed an amicus brief in the state supreme court case known as Held v. Montana.

The coalition is asking the Montana Supreme Court to overrule a lower court’s decision that struck down recent changes to state environmental permitting laws and said 16 minors had standing to sue over Montana’s contribution to climate change.

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Ranked-Choice Voting Proves to Be Lightning Rod Issue in Several States

Bills to ban ranked-choice voting are causing passionate debate over a method to cast ballots that some say is fairer and some say is confusing and could lower voter turnout.

Ranked-choice voting allows people to rank the candidates, with “one” being their favorite. The votes are tallied in rounds. After the first round, the candidate with the lowest votes is eliminated. The voter’s second preference is then added to the tally. The process continues until a winner is determined.

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Trump Endorses Tim Sheehy for Montana GOP Senate over Matt Rosendale

Trump Montana

Former President Donald Trump weighed in on the GOP Montana Senate primary, endorsing former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy over Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale.

“I LOVE MONTANA! Tim Sheehy is an American Hero and highly successful Businessman from the Great State of Montana,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He is strongly supported by our incredible Chairman of the NRSC, Steve Daines, and many other patriotic Senators and Republicans who have endorsed our Campaign to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

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Democrat Supporting Super PAC Pours Millions into Montana and Nevada U.S. Senate Races

A super PAC committed to electing Senate Democrats is dropping tens of millions in ad reservations into Montana and Nevada’s key 2024 races, Politico reported Monday.

The Senate Majority PAC will spend an initial $27 million and $36 million in Montana and Nevada, respectively, in its first round of ad buys for the fall ahead of the Nov. 5 general election, according to  Politico. The ad reservations will begin airing in the summer to help the contested reelection bids of Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Jacky Rosen of Nevada.

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Montana Attorney General Shoots Down Proposal to Enshrine Abortion in State Constitution

Austin Knudsen

Attorney General Austin Knudsen of Montana stopped an abortion ballot proposal from going through on Tuesday, claiming it was “legally insufficient,” according to the Montana Free Press.

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana launched the ballot initiative in November 2023, which would prevent “the government from denying or burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability,” according to the Idaho Capital Sun. Knudsen dismissed the proposal, arguing in a memorandum that it was “legally insufficient” and “logrolls multiple distinct political choices into a single initiative,” the Montana Free Press reported.

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