A statement obtained from the Montana Department of Justice by Yellowstone Public Radio strongly criticizes the ruling, which enjoins Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen from enforcing the law, commonly referred to as House Bill 719.
“This duly enacted law bolsters election integrity and provides necessary safeguards to absentee voting in Montana” said Montana Department of Justice Deputy Communications Director Chase Scheuer, who went on to say “writing your birthday on an envelope is not an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote.”
In his ruling, the judge in Lewis and Clark County said the law, which was enacted last year, violates the right of suffrage guaranteed under the Montana Constitution. He cited a lack of evidence of election fraud, and finding the State could not explain how public confidence in elections would be elevated by requiring a birth year on ballots.
Disability Rights Montana, which was among those challenging the law, claims more than 18-hundred absentee ballots went uncounted in the November 2025 elections because of a missing or incorrect birth year.
Following the ruling, Executive Director David Carlson said “The government should not throw out a Montanan’s vote because of a paperwork mistake that does nothing to make an election more secure."
