Reasons for rejecting ballot initiatives CI-126 & CI-127
- essentially implements a ranked-choice voting system;
- would advance 4 candidates from the primary to the general, no matter how few votes they received in the primary;
- 50% vote needed to win an election — basically creates run-off elections that could last until December;
- political games? The sponsor has said that candidates can run for office with a party affiliation *without needing the endorsement of the party*;
- outside dark-money groups are supporting these election changes;
- Alaska is already looking to repeal its ranked-choice voting because it was a terrible experiment;
- Idaho SOS warns voters of “delays and dollars” ranked choice voting would create if its ballot initiative passes;
- Washington’s Democrat SOS is against RCV — not a Democrat vs Republican topic; simply bad for elections.
________
Read more from the Montana Republican State Central Committee HERE. (mtstoprcv.com; paid for by MTRSCC, Treasurer Brad Tschida)
This, and other information found on the above website: What happened!?
________
The Foundation for Government Accountability calls RCV a DISASTER. Click HERE or the image below to read what they say.
________
Here is the Secretary of State’s take on the issue: Montana’s Secretary of State details her opposition to Ranked Choice Voting (mountainstatespolicy.org)
________
KRTV has a simple description of what the two initiatives are about:
Questions:
Do we want open primaries where those who are not even registered Republicans may vote for the most left leaning Republican candidate to possibly stop the most conservative from winning? Do we not want the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes to be the winner?
________
Montana GOP press release:
April 3, 2024
Contact: madison@mtgop.org
HELENA, Mont. – Montana Republican Party Chairman Don “K” Kaltschmidt released the following statement after the state party launched a Rank Choice Voting (RCV) Task Force, to combat RCV efforts in Montana, including stopping Constitutional Initiative 126, or the “Top 4 Vote Getter” initiative:
“Our Rank Choice Voting (RCV) Task Force is chaired by Montana’s National Committeeman Art Wittich and is tasked with educating Montana voters on the dangers of RCV. The people of Montana need to know that RCV has many names, including “Final Four” voting. But no matter what it is called, RCV makes voting harder and puts public confidence in elections at risk,” Chairman Kaltschmidt said.
The MTGOP has reviewed CI-126, known as the “Top 4 Vote Getter” initiative, and is clearly opposed to its back door RCV scheme. This initiative would be destructive to our elections process, cause confusion, and disenfranchise Montana voters. Our task force will be working diligently to educate Montanans on the issue, highlight its true intentions, and stop it.”
MTGOP Chairman Don “K” Kaltschmidt penned an op-ed in Lee Newspapers highlighting the dangers of CI-126, which can be found HERE.
