Dear Editor - HB 325

Dear Editor,

If passed by the voters, HB 325 would amend MCA 3-2-101 to do away with state at large elections for supreme court justices, and provide for elections in newly created separate districts. In my opinion, the bill is severely flawed.

The current state at large elections grants citizens the right to vote for all seats on the court. HB 325 significantly erodes voting rights, by restricting individuals to vote for only one seat on the court for the district in which they reside. For this reason alone, this bill should be rejected.

Article VII of the state constitution, (The Judiciary), states in section 9, and I quote, “a district court judge shall reside in the district.” So, will supreme court justices now be considered district supreme court justices who will need to reside in the district they represent? If so, what would happen if one or more districts does not produce a willing and qualified candidate. I suppose a candidate for justice could change residence to a district that could not provide a candidate of their own. More importantly, the number of qualified and experienced candidates in some districts could be much less by transitioning from state at large, to district elections. My assumption is that some of the proposed districts will have a higher percentage of qualified legal professionals then others. HB 325 does not address any of these flaws.

In conclusion, HB 325 lacks foresight, reeks of partisan politics, gerrymandering and would effectively censure voters by denying us our right to vote for all of our supreme court justices. The bill could also reduce the number of qualified Justices to choose from. All of this would essentially move our state government away from Democracy, and toward what? The current state at large elections for our state supreme court justices is a fair process, works well and is not broken, so why change it? I would ask voters to reflect on what this bill would actually accomplish. Would it enhance voter participation in our government, or is it simply a partisan power grab? Good government should create solutions, not more problems.

Sincerely, Don Lepinsky

Whitehall, Montana