Require top two primary for certain offices
SB 562 would create a top-two primary system for a defined set of Montana offices, including U.S. Senate and House, governor and lieutenant governor, statewide executive offices, public service commissioners, state legislators, and county commissioners. Under the bill, candidates would file a declaration of candidacy for top-two races, may list a party preference on the ballot, and the two candidates receiving the most votes in the primary would advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. The bill also provides that if two or fewer candidates seek advancement, they advance directly without appearing on the primary ballot.
To implement that system, the bill revises a broad range of election statutes governing candidate filing, ballot formatting, absentee voting, recounts, contests, vacancy appointments, special elections, campaign finance disclosures, and election administration. It adds definitions for terms such as “top two primary,” “selection to advance,” and “certificate of selection,” and it updates ballot language so voters are informed that party preference does not control advancement to the general election. The bill also makes conforming changes to vacancy-filling procedures and special-election procedures for offices that would use the top-two format.
The bill would substantially amend Montana election law across Title 13 and related vacancy provisions in Titles 2, 5, and 7. It would shift certain partisan and nonpartisan election procedures to a top-two primary model, alter filing deadlines and ballot certification rules, require new ballot disclosures, and change how write-in candidates, candidate withdrawals, recounts, and election contests are handled in races using the new system. It would also affect campaign finance and election communication rules by requiring party preference disclosures in top-two races and updating related enforcement provisions. The act is effective on passage and approval.
The available voting history shows the bill was advanced out of the Senate State Administration Committee on a 9-0 vote to table, indicating unanimous committee support at that stage. No committee transcript excerpts were provided, so there is no recorded debate in the supplied materials to show detailed arguments for or against the proposal. Overall, the procedural history suggests the bill had at least initial committee backing, but the bill ultimately died in process.
The main policy issue is the replacement of Montana’s existing primary structure for selected offices with a top-two system, which can be controversial because it changes how parties nominate candidates and how voters choose among them. The bill explicitly states that the top-two primary may not be used as a means for a political party to nominate or endorse a candidate, and it requires ballot language clarifying that party preference is not the same as party nomination or endorsement. Likely points of contention include whether the change dilutes party influence, whether it improves voter choice and competitiveness, and how it affects independent and minor-party candidates. The bill’s extensive conforming amendments to election administration, ballot design, and vacancy procedures also suggest implementation complexity as another likely concern.