HELENA — A federal judge Tuesday struck down a portion of Montana’s “clean campaign act,” saying it’s an unconstitutional burden on free speech to require political committees to notify candidates about last-minute attack campaign material.
U.S. District Judge Don Molloy of Missoula said the so-called “fair notice” requirement, which applies only to material distributed within 10 days of the election, has the potential to “chill” campaign speech in the final days before an election.
“It imposes a more pernicious burden on speech, in that it delays, and sometimes even prevents, political speech on the basis of its content,” the judge wrote.
Molloy ruled in favor of Montana Citizen for Right to Work, a political committee that advocates against laws that allow union dues or membership as a requirement of employment.
Six days before the November 2020 election in Montana, the group sent 16,000 mailers to voters containing information on where candidates stood on “right to work” issues and organized labor. The mailers also asked voters to contact those candidates about their views on those issues.
The Montana Democratic Party then filed a complaint against Montana Citizens for Right to Work, saying it had ignored the state law requiring it to notify candidates whose names were mentioned in any campaign material sent within 10 days of the election.
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