Montana ballot measure · November 3, 2026
Montana CI-133, explained
Right to initiative and referendum in the Declaration of Rights. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.
The official wordingWhat appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.
BALLOT LANGUAGE FOR CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE NO. 133 (CI-133) CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE NO. 133 A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROPOSED BY INITIATIVE PETITION The Montana constitution reserves to the people the powers of initiative and referendum. CI-133 amends the constitution to secure this fundamental right from interference by the government. Specifically, CI-133 requires impartial, predictable, open, and timely processes for ballot issues. Petitions and ballot statements must be approved within 90 days of the initial submission, and legal challenges to ballot qualification must be resolved before the deadline for finalizing ballots. CI-133 requires the state to allow ample time for signature gathering, prohibits disqualification of petitions because of minor or technical issues, allows voters to withdraw their signatures if they so choose, and prohibits the use of government resources to support or oppose a ballot measure. [ ] YES on Constitutional Amendment CI-133 [ ] NO on Constitutional Amendment CI-133
What it actually means
Montana has had the initiative since 1906 and the power to initiate constitutional amendments since 1972, but the rules for using it sit in ordinary statute and in the discretion of state officials. CI-133 would add a new Section 37 to the Declaration of Rights making initiative and referendum a fundamental right, so any law burdening it would have to survive strict scrutiny — a compelling government interest, achieved by the least restrictive means. It also writes specific procedural guarantees into the constitution: deadlines for approving petitions, a bar on rejecting signatures for minor or technical errors, and a right to withdraw a signature.
If you vote YES
- A new Article II, Section 37 would say the people have a fundamental right to exercise the initiative and referendum, and that government "may not deny or burden this right unless justified by a compelling government interest achieved by the least restrictive means."
- Petitions and ballot statements would have to be approved for circulation, and legal challenges to that approval resolved, within 90 days of the initial submission.
- Legal challenges to whether a measure qualifies for the ballot would have to be resolved before the deadline for finalising ballots — so a measure could not be left in limbo past printing.
- Signatures and petitions could not be invalidated for a "technical or minor deficiency," and sponsors would be entitled to "reasonably ample time to gather signatures without unjustified burdens."
- A voter could withdraw their signature, with the same deadline that applies to submitting signed petitions.
- Government resources could not be used to support or oppose a ballot issue, and the government could change a sponsor's proposed ballot statement only if it is not "a true and impartial explanation expressed in plain, easily understood language."
- The amendment is self-executing and takes effect on approval.
If you vote NO
- Articles III, IV and XIV continue to govern the initiative process, with the details left to statute and to officials' discretion.
- The Attorney General keeps the current role in drafting and approving ballot language, and disputes continue to be litigated on no fixed timetable — as they were over CI-132's own ballot language in late 2025.
- Signatures can continue to be rejected for technical defects, and there is no constitutional deadline by which a petition must be cleared for circulation.
- The Legislature keeps the power to change signature requirements, deadlines and circulation rules by ordinary law.
- Montana remains the only state this year with a measure that would expand rather than restrict the initiative; five others go the other way.
The numbers that matter
- Deadline for approving a petition for circulation
- 90 days from initial submission, including resolution of legal challenges
- Standard for any law burdening the right
- Strict scrutiny — a compelling government interest achieved by the least restrictive means
- Montana's initiative record
- 99 citizen-initiated measures decided from 1906 to 2025; 55 approved, 44 defeated
- Reported campaign funds
- $2,004,917 for; $0 against
Text of CI-133
Text of CI-133
Ballotpedia's list of Montana ballot measures
Campaign finance reports through June 25, 2026, as compiled by Ballotpedia
What each side says2 for, 1 against — quoted, not summarised
Why supporters say YES
"Montanans understand the value of the ballot initiative process itself, even if they don't understand necessarily the nitty-gritty. … I think that it's a nonpartisan issue. The ballot initiative process is for everyone. Folks across the political spectrum use it. This year they attempted to get a property tax initiative placed on the ballot and weren't able to do so because the process has become so cumbersome and the timeline for gathering signatures has become so short."
— SK Rossi, spokesperson, Montanans Decide
"Citizen initiatives should not be bogged down in endless litigation and bureaucratic hurdles put in place by those elected to serve the people. Montanans overwhelmingly support this initiative because it protects the people's power to hold government accountable."
— Raph Graybill, lawyer for Montanans Decide
Why opponents say NO
"I think we're opening the door to endless litigation and leaving it up to courts to decide where the line is."
— State Rep. Braxton Mitchell (R-5)
What's genuinely uncertain
- No committee registered to oppose CI-133, and the case against comes from a single legislator, which is why one argument appears here against two in favour. Through June 25, 2026 the supporting committee, Montanans Decide, reported $2.0 million in contributions and nothing was reported against.
- Most of that money came from out of state: The Fairness Project ($1.01 million including in-kind), Global Impact Social Welfare Fund – Montana ($605,000) and American Opportunity Action ($380,000) were the largest donors.
- Terms the amendment turns on — "technical or minor deficiency," "reasonably ample time," "unjustified burdens" — are not defined, so courts would decide what they mean. Both sides agree on that; they disagree about whether it is a feature or a flaw.
- What happens to existing statutory rules on signature gathering and verification that conflict with the new right is not spelled out; the amendment is self-executing but does not repeal anything by name.
The bottom line
Whether the right to put a question on the ballot should be protected in the Declaration of Rights with fixed deadlines and a strict-scrutiny test — a process officials could not quietly tighten, against constitutional language broad enough that courts, not the Legislature, would settle what it means.
One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.
Sources (3)The numbers in the text above link here
- 1Ballot Language for Constitutional Initiative No. 133 — Montana Secretary of State — sosmt.gov
- 2Montana CI-133, Add Right to Initiative and Referendum Power to Declaration of Rights Amendment (2026) — Ballotpedia — ballotpedia.org
- 3Complete text of Constitutional Initiatives No. 132 and No. 133, published under 13-27-311 MCA — Hungry Horse News legal notice — hungryhorsenews.com
Checking it against the official text
The Montana Secretary of State publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.
Confirm this with the official source
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Montana Secretary of State.
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- Montana's 1st congressional district
- Montana's 2nd congressional district