League of Women Voters of Montana v. Knudsen

On May 22, 2023, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed HB 892 into law. The bill made the following changes to Montana’s voter registration system:  

• Deregistration Requirement – HB 892 forbade voters from, “purposefully remain[ing] registered to vote in more than one place in this state or another state any time, unless related to involvement in special district elections.”  

• Omission Provision – HB 892, also required voters to provide, “previous registration information on the Montana voter registration application.”  

Voters who failed to follow these provisions could be subject to a maximum fine of $5,000, up to 18 months of imprisonment, or both. Both federal and Montana state laws already prohibit voting more than once in an election and punish such offenses with criminal penalties. 

On October 31, 2023, the League of Women Voters of Montana (“LWV Montana”) filed a lawsuit in the Gallatin County District Court, asserting HB 892 violated the Montana Constitution’s protections of free speech, freedom of association, right to suffrage and due process.  

The complaint pointed out that there was no formal process for Montana voters to deregister when moving between counties, that federal law places the burden of maintaining voter rolls on election officials, and that there was no established or consistent process nationally for voters who moved to Montana from another state to cancel their registration. The complaint also stated the terms “purposefully” and in “more than one place” in the Deregistration Requirement were undefined and that the same issue was true for what was required to satisfy “previous registration information” for the Omission Provision.  

Finally, LWV Montana asserted HB 892 would burden the voting, free speech, associational, and due process rights of its members, the organization itself, and the voters it assists. Among other burdens, the League argued the bill would force members and the Montanans it helps to navigate burdensome steps to cancel their prior voter registration, ensure their previous registration information is accurately filled out, and divert resources from other efforts to assist voters with complying in order to avoid criminal liability. LWV Montana also highlighted potential due process violations, as both the Deregistration Requirement and Omission Provision left important terms undefined, creating uncertainty about whether League members or volunteers’ work in voter registration drives, among other activities, would violate the law, and chill prospective voters from registering to vote at all for fear of the same. 

LWV Montana was represented in this matter by Campaign Legal Center and Upper Seven Law.