A judge has found the election district map for state utility regulators to be constitutional, despite being drawn in a way that favors Republican candidates.
The Public Service Commissioners are elected from five districts across Montana. The map that determines those districts was re-drawn by lawmakers in 2023. It divided major cities across the state into different districts, and was found by an expert during trial to have been drawn in a way that favored Republican candidates.
Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Christopher Abbott ruled Monday that although the maps show a partisan advantage, that was not lawmakers’ intent. In his decision Abbott said the plaintiffs failed to show that lawmakers' drew the map to ensure a disadvantage to Democratic candidates. Abbott’s decision was informed by a 12-person jury that heard arguments from both sides in a December trial.
The maps were used in the most recent PSC election this past fall, where three Republican candidates won their races, and will hold for the next PSC election.
