Christi Jacobsen

Although some 2026 candidates have been campaigning for months, the official registration period opened this week. Political hopefuls have two weeks to turn in their paperwork.

Midterm elections typically don't attract much attention, but 2026 may be different. With three of Montana's four seats in Congress on the ballot, nearly a dozen challengers have thrown their hat in the ring. Republican incumbents are favored in all three races, with the western district race seen as the most competitive.

Forward Montana and the Montana Public Interest Research Group say new voting regulations unduly burden young voters. The groups have successfully challenged similar legislation in recent years.

Montana legislators are considering bills to change how the state’s elections work. One bill would discard signatures from registered but inactive voters endorsing third-party candidates or ballot initiatives.

The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to weigh in on a pair of state election laws declared unconstitutional by the Montana Supreme Court early last year. The laws sought to ban same-day voter registration and paid absentee ballot collection.

Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen likely discriminated against an applicant for Cascade County Clerk and Recorder. That’s according to findings from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.

Montana Republicans swept statewide offices in the 2024 election.

Cascade County Commissioners agreed to pay thousands of dollars to settle a discrimination complaint brought against them by a former clerk and recorder.

A quickly corrected ballot error raises questions; A new ad questions Monica Tranel's stance on the border; Controversial South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem stumps for Tim Sheehy, who has no comment on evidence he plagiarized portions of his memoir.

The Montana Secretary of State agreed in court to count inactive voter signatures for three proposed ballot issues. However, the office’s attorneys say that does not guarantee the measures will advance.