Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, a Republican, passed two election integrity bills with strict voter ID requirements. This gave the Democrats a knee-jerk reaction calling it voter suppression.
Democrat call ID laws voter suppression
Governor Gianforte of the Republican party has strengthened the Montana election with integrity bills that disallow voting without proper ID, which the DEMS don't want to happen, reported the Epoch Times.
Montana Democratic party members want to sue the state for keeping it from happening; they don't like it when voters have specific requirements, even if to safeguard the elections. Similar states like Georgia were attacked for election integrity laws getting passed.
The bill concerned is House Bill 176 that only allows later voters to register up to noon, a day before election day, and Senate Bill 169 limits what IDs can be used for voting; at times, voters will need two IDs before allowed to vote.
In a Monday tweet, Gianforte said, "Montana has a long history of secure, open elections, setting a standard for the nation."
A tweet by Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen was quoted.
"While Montana sets the bar for elections around the country, there is still space for progress, and voter ID and voter registration deadlines are best practices in ensuring election integrity."
Election attorney Marc Elias announced that a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Montana Democrats shortly after Gianforte passed the bills into law.
Elias stated in a tweet the following statement.
"Montana's Republican governor announced bilateral voter suppression legislation into law this afternoon. Tonight, we sued on behalf of the @MTDems."
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The Democrat lawsuit called Jacobsen as the defendant, and alleges the two bills are against the Montana constitution, and pleads the court to its from implementation; it called voter suppression.
According to the suit, the laws will restrict all Montana voters, especially the young voters, elderly, disable, and native communities.
The lawsuit, "there is no legitimate justification for these restrictions, let alone any sufficiently compelling interest to justify their rules on the fundamental right to vote.
SB169, in particular, limits the use of student ID cards as primary proof of identification when voting and instead needs an alternative form of photographic evidence. Examples are current utility bills, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or another government document which contains each individual's name and current address.
According to the complaint, the bills that limit voter's rights are not credible with elections or their integrity. They are not aimed at real threats to election integrity connected to the 2020 elections, said the Montana DEMS.
One of the bills' sponsors, state Rep. Sharon Greef, a Republican, said the law is about maintaining clean and free elections.
State Senator Mike Cuffe, the ID bill's sponsor, acknowledged that Montana elections are stable but said the bill was about improving the process and guaranteeing that Montana citizens vote in the state's elections.
In an April 19 statement, Cuffe was quoted on it.
"Election integrity is the rock, the backbone of our nation, and voter ID is a vital factor in ensuring Montana elections are free and fair."
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte and Republicans are combatting moves by Democrats to call election integrity bills voter suppression.
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