SB 281 revises Montana’s electioneering restrictions at polling places on election day. The bill keeps the existing prohibition on electioneering inside polling places and within 100 feet of a polling-place entrance, and it adds a new restriction barring electioneering within 100 feet of a line of voters waiting outside the polling location. Electioneering is defined broadly to include activity that aids or promotes the success or defeat of a candidate or ballot issue.
The bill also retains and restates related polling-place conduct rules. It continues to prohibit candidates, family members, campaign workers, and volunteers from distributing alcohol, tobacco, food, drink, or anything of value to voters within the polling place, the building, or the 100-foot buffer zones. It likewise preserves the ban on wearing or displaying campaign-related badges, buttons, or insignia at or about the polls, and the prohibition on soliciting from electors how they intend to vote or how they voted. The secretary of state would be required to send a copy of the act to each federally recognized tribal government in Montana, and the act would take effect immediately upon passage and approval.
Impact
If enacted, SB 281 would amend section 13-35-211, MCA, by expanding the electioneering buffer to include a 100-foot zone around lines of voters waiting outside a polling location. This would affect campaign activity, voter contact, and expressive conduct near polling places on election day, and would apply to candidates, campaign workers, volunteers, and others engaging in election-related advocacy. The bill would also create a formal notice requirement to tribal governments through the secretary of state and would take effect immediately.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have had mixed support but ultimately failed to advance. In the Senate State Administration Committee, a motion to table the bill passed 6-3, while a subsequent do-pass motion failed 4-5, indicating that a majority of the committee was not prepared to move the bill forward. With no committee transcript available, the recorded votes suggest the proposal had some support but not enough to overcome opposition or procedural resistance.
Contention
The main point of contention was the expansion of electioneering restrictions from the polling-place entrance area to the area around lines of voters waiting outside. Supporters likely viewed this as a voter-protection measure to reduce pressure or influence on people waiting to vote, while opponents may have seen it as an additional restriction on political speech and campaign activity near polling locations. The committee votes show the bill was divided enough to be tabled, but the available record does not identify specific arguments or speakers.