A judge ordered Green Party of Montana candidates removed from the November ballot, after finding the secretary of state improperly rejected requests by voters to have their signatures removed from petitions that qualified the minor party for the races.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit argued they did not know the Montana Republican Party was behind the effort to qualify Green Party candidates.
The judge said Friday the removal requests of more than 560 people were valid and without those signatures, the Green Party representatives did not have enough signatures. The office of Secretary of State Corey Stapleton and the Montana Republican Party did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
