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Montana politics, elections and legislative news

2024 Election breakdown: Secretary of State race

Montana Secretary of State seal

Corin Cates-Carney: Ed, before we get into who is jockeying to be Montana’s next Secretary of State, let’s start with what the job is.

Edward Obrien: The office is made up of three divisions. One helps manage government records and keeps tabs on administrative rules. A separate division offers a range of services to businesses and nonprofits. Lastly it interprets state election laws.

Corin Cates-Carney: And who is running for the position?

Edward Obrien: Three candidates from three parties. They won’t face competition in the primary and are the assumed candidates for the general election as well. They include Republican incumbent Christi Jacobsen, and challengers Jesse James Mullen, a Democrat, and Libertarian John Lamb.

Corin Cates-Carney: Let’s start with the incumbent. Christi Jacobsen was elected in 2020. What is her message to voters as she seeks a second term?

Edward Obrien: Jacobsen touts her record of serving the business community. She says the Secretary of State’s office during her term has cut new business filing fees in half from $70 to $35 dollars. Annual report filing fees for all businesses this year were waived.

Christi Jacobsen: Montanans and the business community are super grateful to have those fees eliminated, reduced or completely waived. So, very proud of that.”

Edward Obrien: But Corin, arguably the Montana Secretary of State’s elections services division is the agency’s - most front-facing division. It helps voters and candidates as well as interprets election law.

Corin Cates-Carney: Interpreting election laws — we’ve heard a lot in recent years about laws passed by the Legislature with the goal of improving the state’s election integrity that have later been found unconstitutional. What does Jacobsen say about that?

Edward Obrien: Jacobsen has been at the center of almost all those stories. She’s consistently defended the legislature’s attempts to end election-day registration, place restrictions on both acceptable types of voter ID and who can get an absentee ballot. Lawmakers also attempted to regulate ballot collection efforts.

Corin Cates-Carney: The Montana Supreme court this spring declared those laws unconstitutional.

Edward Obrien: Yes. Jacobsen describes them as common-sense measures to protect Montana’s election integrity. She tells me she’s frustrated by what she says were the well-funded, liberal, dark money interests who intervened in Montana affairs.

Corin Cates-Carney: Remind us who filed this lawsuit?

Edward Obrien: The plaintiffs that challenged the laws included multiple Native American tribes, Western Native Voice, the Montana Democratic party, other tribal and youth advocacy groups. They argued these laws unduly hindered Montanans' right to vote.

Here’s how Jacobsen frames it:

Christi Jacobsen: “Their experts are all from out-of-state that have no idea what’s going on in the state of Montana. It is complete outside influence that’s wanting to change policy that Montanans want in place.”

Corin Cates-Carney: So these laws were found by a district court and the state supreme court to be unconstitutional. , Does Jacobsen believe Montana’s elections are less secure and accessible without these laws on the books and if so does she plan to support new policy if elected again?

Edward Obrien: She says there’s always room for improvement and that she's already thinking about taking another swing at tightening voter ID requirements – possibly introducing a bill during next year’s legislative session.

And she plans to continue fighting for laws already passed.

Christi Jacobsen: I am appealing to the United States Supreme Court and I strongly believe that they’re going to take our case.”

Corin Cates-Carney: We’ll have to see if the court does do that. Let’s move on now to the Democrat in the race.

Edward Obrien: Jesse James Mullen is a political newcomer. He’s a newspaperman who owns 21 rural community weekly papers in six different states scattered across the Rocky Mountain West.

Corin Cates-Carney: Why does he want to be Montana’s next Secretary of State?

Edward Obrien: A couple of different reasons. Whereas Jacobsen sees the legislature’s election-related laws and her work defending them as efforts to uphold as she puts it, ‘common sense election integrity’, Mullen sees as it as a big waste of time and money:

Jesse James Mullen: “We have a Secretary of State in there right now who has had to have been sued on multiple occasions to do basic duties of her job and she flaunts the constitution of our state. We need somebody who will not blow $1.25 million of the public’s money defending herself and losing because she’s refusing to do her duties. “

Edward Obrien: Mullen describes the voter integrity measures passed by the last legislature – and shot down by the courts - as "pure theater". He suggests that instead of lawmakers throwing impediments between legally qualified voters and their right to cast ballots, more should be done to limit voting barriers.

Corin Cates-Carney: How?

Edward Obrien: Here’s an example: Mullen says he’s not opposed to more strict voter ID requirements. But he suggests including digital forms of ID, which he says are more accessible and affordable for some people:

Jesse James Mullen: “It can mean a variety of things. Essentially, you’re looking at an ID that is verified in the same way as a physical ID, but much like if somebody is pulled over for speeding and they’re able to verify their insurance with an app on their phone that’s a form of digital identification.”

Edward Obrien: Mullen also advocates for more transparency in state government. If elected, he says he’d expedite Freedom of Information Act requests and ensure government records are more readily accessible.

Corin Cates-Carney: How would he do that?

Edward Obrien: By hiring staffers whose primary responsibility would be to respond to records requests

Corin Cates-Carney: Any plans for the business services side of the job?

Edward Obrien: Mullen says he’ll leverage his experience in the private sector to improve customer service and identify redundancies between the different state departments.

Corin Cates-Carney: Lastly, voters will see a Libertarian on the ballot.

Edward Obrien: Yes. Libertarian John Lamb is a Bozeman area farmer who has made two unsuccessful prior runs for federal office in Montana – the U.S House and Senate.

While Lamb did not complete an MTPR survey detailing his experience and background, he did grant an interview to me.

Corin Cates-Carney: Why does he want the job?

Edward Obrien: Lamb tells me he was considering another congressional run, but ultimately decided the historic fundraising expected this cycle would be exorbitant and immediately price him out of the race. After giving it some thought, he says the Secretary of State position would be a better fit:

John Lamb : My immediate priorities would be to work for the people of Montana, to try to not be involved in their life no more than we had to, but be there to work for them for their needs that they need to take care of.”

Corin Cates-Carney: That government-hands-off-whenever-possible approach. Did he give details about what that looks like or what policies would change?

Edward Obrien: Generally, Lamb says he “wants to give a little more freedom back to Montanans”.

To that end, like Democrat Jesse James Mullen, Lamb says if elected, he’d expedite records requests. He says government generally is too slow in responding to those requests:

John Lamb: “Sometimes we want these public records requests and it’s delayed and we’re not getting it properly and it takes months. I think we’re working for the people. These things should be more transparent.”

Corin Cates-Carney: What’s Lamb’s take on some of the laws passed in recent years with the goal of increasing election integrity?

Edward Obrien: He opposes same day voter registration:

John Lamb: It’s kind of like becoming a resident of Montana. When people move here, you're not a resident the same day you move here. And I think the same rules should apply to voting as a resident. That it's a process. You can't just go in there and register the same day. So I do oppose same day registration.

Edward Obrien: Lamb tells me he has no problem with people collecting and dropping off ballots for friends and family, but is skeptical when that work is performed by large organizations.

Corin Cates-Carney: Ed, thanks for your reporting.

Corrected: May 17, 2024 at 6:31 PM MDT
Correction: This report previously inaccurately stated the Secretary of State cut business filing fees after a legislative audit. MTPR has removed that statement because those fee cuts were made before the audit. We regret the error.
Edward O’Brien first landed at Montana Public Radio three decades ago as a news intern while attending the UM School of Journalism. He covers a wide range of stories from around the state.
edward.obrien@umt.edu.  
(406) 243-4065
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