HELENA, Mont. — On Thursday, Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen was accompanied by members of the 69th Montana Legislature to emphasize the significance of ensuring that only U.S. citizens participate in Montana elections. Legislators joined Secretary Jacobsen to discuss the bipartisan constitutional policy. 

“Across the country, officials are misinterpreting the language that ‘any citizen can vote’ to mean something different than only citizens can vote,” said Secretary Jacobsen. “Both red states and blue states, from Alabama to Colorado, explicitly distinguish that only U.S. citizens can vote. Montanans on every side of the aisle strongly agree and believe that only U.S. citizens should vote in our state’s elections.”

On Friday, Senate Bill 185, a “Constitutional amendment regarding qualified elector to require that only a citizen can vote,” will be heard in the Senate State Administration Committee at 3 p.m. Montanans can provide feedback to the committee or sign up to testify during Friday’s hearing by visiting the Montana Legislature’s website at https://www.legmt.gov/participate/.