Montana committee votes to continue study of moving the primary; narrow vote rejects specific two‑week shift

The committee’s study of House Joint Resolution 48 — a proposal to change Montana’s primary election timing — continued on Jan. 29 after a staff recap of public input and models from other states. Miss Power summarized comments received across earlier meetings and a stakeholder survey; common concerns included the impact on school funding timelines, weather‑related barriers for candidates and election judges, and ballot complexity if elections were consolidated.

Representative Schubert moved that the committee continue the study and pursue drafting committee legislation; that motion passed on a roll call (the committee recorded a roll call and staff reported the motion carried). Schubert and other proponents argued a modest move could give Montana more influence in presidential nomination contests and suggested a two‑week earlier shift might balance logistical concerns and increased participation. Representative Schubert said moving both the school and primary elections two weeks earlier would preserve the gap between elections while improving Montana's position on the national calendar.

Opponents, including Representative Tillman and others, raised implementation concerns. County election administrators testified that school and special‑district filing deadlines and ballot production schedules are tightly interwoven and that many clerks are already stretched by recent law changes and system upgrades; some counties worried that even a two‑week shift could create unintended consequences for school levies and special districts. Regina Plettenberg, Ravalli County election administrator, and others asked the committee to ensure county implementation issues were fully evaluated before any statutory change.

The committee took a roll call vote on a motion to direct staff to draft committee legislation that would move both the primary and the school elections two weeks earlier; the motion failed by roll call, 6 to 5. The committee agreed to continue the HJ48 study, solicit targeted feedback from election administrators and school officials, and revisit draft language at a future meeting. Miss Power will collect comparative state laws, county feedback and logistical analyses requested by members.

Next steps: Committee staff will assemble model language and county impact data and schedule additional work‑session time prior to the next interim meeting; members asked for a possible two‑year transition or phased approach to mitigate implementation risk.