Montana judge rules ballot birth year verification violates voting rights

The 2025 Montana Legislature passed House Bill 719, and  Gov. Greg Gianforte signed it into law on May 5 of that year. The law requires voters to verify their birthdate on any absentee ballot they cast, that is, any vote not cast at a polling location. 

Disability Rights Montana and Big Sky 55+, groups that advocate for Montanans with disabilities and older adults, challenged the law and cited an increase in ballot rejections since it took effect. 

“A lot of people that use the absentee ballot process are people that need to actually use it for mobility reasons. They can't go into a polling place,” said Trent Bolger, Big Sky 55+ executive director. “We're happy that the court agreed with us and that we shouldn't be throwing ballots out and people's votes out for arbitrary reasons.”

County officials across Montana have rejected thousands of ballots since the law took effect, though it is unclear how many of those voters were able to recast their vote by visiting their local elections office.

In his ruling, Menehan said that while the plaintiffs did not present compelling evidence that the law prevented someone from voting, the state also did not sufficiently show how adding the birth year strengthened election security.

The ruling means that, for now, ballots without a signed birthdate will still be accepted.

More than 575,000 Montanans vote absentee, and hundreds of overseas ballots, including those from military voters, have already been returned. The bulk of the absentee ballots are slated to be sent out on Friday, Oct. 9, as required by Montana Law.

The Secretary of State’s Office expressed frustration with the ruling so close to when in-state absentee ballots are shipped.

“We’ve already heard from election officials confused by the order and frustrated by its timing. Not to mention, what would happen if this ruling were appealed and overturned?” noted Richie Melby with the Montana Secretary of State’s Office. “It’s unfortunate that a former partisan legislator dictated changes to the election from the bench after votes have already been cast.”

Nonstop Local spoke with election officials from several counties, who said voters will likely receive information with their ballots stating that birth-year verification is required. 

“It’s too late to swap them out for envelopes without a birth year, so we are at a time crunch; we don’t have a choice; our deadline is Friday, by state statute,” noted Lewis and Clark County Treasurer, Clerk and Recorder Amy Reeves.

Election officials are also encouraging voters to still complete the birth-year verification, in case the Montana Supreme Court issues a ruling before election day.

Chase Scheuer, a spokesperson with the Montana Department of Justice, said they plan to appeal the ruling, adding: “We're disappointed in the court's ruling as this duly enacted law bolsters election integrity and provides necessary safeguards to absentee voting in Montana. Further, writing your birthday on an envelope is not an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote.”

The Montana Supreme Court justices have historically been mindful of how their rulings could impact or harm individuals.

For example, in the last couple of weeks, they initially ruled that Silver Bow County had to include a local data center ballot initiative on the November Ballot. But when the court was notified that ballots had already been printed and overseas voters were already casting their votes, the Supreme Court invalidated their opinion due to costs to the county and impacts to those voters.

If you’re wondering about your voter registration status or where you’ll be voting, you can find that information here.