Republican maneuvering costly to state
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Editor,
Greg Hertz responded to a letter imploring him to support a cost-saving mailin ballot to replace Ryan Zinke thusly: “…. when each county has a choice it creates constitutional problems of equal protection by limiting a voter in one county with a different option to a voter in another county…”
This question of constitutionality was considered in 2007 with the approval of h.j.Res 46, calling for a study of Montana’s election laws in order to identify the need for clarification of those laws. To that end, an attorney for Montana’s Legislative Services Division wrote an opinion regarding the constitutionality of different voting methods based on county. The conclusion? The Montana Constitution was not violated because no one is prohibited from voting, and a rational basis exists for creating the different voting methods.
Mr. Hertz and the Republican leadership are surely aware of this conclusion. Members of both parties supported a cost saving mail-in ballot until Jeff Essman stated publicly that mail-in ballots favor Democrats. The Republicans’ sudden reversal screams blatant Republican maneuvering and will likely cost the state of Montana upwards of $750,000.
We must hold Mr. Hertz and the Republican leadership accountable for such partisan and costly shenanigans.
Caryl Cox
Polson
