Pair of initiatives seek to change elections, bolster moderate candidates

Many Americans express concern about how the political system is or is not working, but Montana voters will get a chance to change up the way elections are run in a way supporters hope will benefit more moderate candidates.

The changes are included in two separate constitutional amendments, CI-126 and CI-127, on this fall's ballot.

CI-126 would amend the Montana Constitution to change the voting process to a "top four" primary election. This means that all candidates regardless of political party would appear on the primary ballot and the top four would advance.

Montanans do not register for a political party currently but can vote in a partisan primary. In that primary, voters receive party ballots and choose which one to submit. The winner of each primary then goes on to the general election as the nominee of that party.

CI-126 would change that and allow all voters to select their top candidate from all parties and then the top four vote-getters would advance to the general election, regardless of their party affiliation.

CI-127 is somewhat simpler. CI-127 would amend Montana's constitution to require that in state elections candidates would have to receive 50 percent of the vote plus one to win. CI-127, supporters said, would better represent Montanans' votes more accurately and encourage people to vote. The initiative does not dictate the process would be used to achieve that 50% mark. In some states, the top two candidates move on to a runoff. In others, voters use a ranked-choice ballot. 127 says the legislature needs to come up with the method.

Montana State University Political Science Professor Jessi Bennion, who often analyzes politics in the media, was quick to admit, "This is an initiative that I 100% support."

"As a political scientist, I am looking for ways to decrease polarization to get more what I would call non-extreme candidates elected. And I also think that open primaries generally allow people to have more choice," she said.

But others worry the changes could have negative effects on the process.

Shirley Miller, a local Republican Committeewoman in Jefferson County, submitted op-eds to several papers expressing her concerns that if CI-126 passed it would weaken political parties and give more power to less accountable advocacy organizations.

"It ... means more special interest groups fighting for voters' attention, likely leading to more polarized campaigns," she wrote. "CI-126 represents a radical experiment that would make political campaigns more dependent on special interest money."

But according to most surveys, the average voter is pretty fed up with the current system. One survey from Pew Charitable Trust found only 4% of voters said they thought the current system was working extremely or very well.

First generation Montanan and Veteran David Oclander is one of those who wants a change. He is a spokesman for Vote Yes on CI-126 and supports CI-127. His involvement in the process is personal.

"When I was a commander [in Afghanistan], I lost nine of my kids [soldiers], it makes me think frequently about why we serve, the sacrifices we made, and why we continue to make these sacrifices," Oclander said.

"As I look at our country today those two things are suffering, the beliefs and the ideals of the nation and the idea of brotherhood," he said. Oclander believes that having both CI-126 and CI-127 will make Montana less polarized.

Those opposed to the majority requirement in CI-127 have expressed concern about how it would be achieved. The voter information pamphlet included an argument for and against the initiative. Opponents worried the two most likely solutions – a runoff election or a system of ranked choice voting where voters rank their acceptable candidates – are "complicated and expensive." The decision of how to reach the majority of the vote would be made by the legislature.

While Montanan's have organized and canvassed to get the measures on the ballot this year, most of the funds supporting the initiatives have come from two out-of-state political organizations – Article IV and Unite America PAC. These organizations have advocated for electoral changes in numerous states and have supplied $4.3 million to support the initiatives.

The two initiatives are not formally tied in any way, other than by the supporting organizations that have proposed them and so if only one passed it would be left to the legislature set some requirements for the primary or how the majority vote would work.

Then it would fall to people like Missoula's Bradley Seaman to make it a reality.

"Each voter would be learning a new process on what ballots look like for the primary election and general elections there is still some unknown on how that would be set up," Seaman, the county's Election Administrator, said

Seaman explains that if both CI-126 and CI-127 are passed, they are ready to accommodate whatever is needed. That includes more voter education around the new voting process, raising the budget for mailing ballots, and even more polling places.