CI-133Constitutional amendment · Citizen initiative
Protect initiative and referendum rights
Explain it like I'm 5
Montanans can already propose laws and vote on some of them. This would put that power in the Constitution’s list of basic rights and make government limits harder to defend in court.
Yes vote
The Montana Constitution would add initiative and referendum to the Declaration of Rights and subject limits to strict judicial review.
No vote
The current initiative and referendum system would remain without these added constitutional protections.
The question to ask yourself
Should citizen ballot powers receive stronger constitutional protection even if that limits how government regulates the process?
The case for
- Gives citizens stronger protection when officials delay or burden the ballot process.
- Requires the process to be fair, predictable, transparent, and timely.
- Provides a direct check when elected officials do not act on an issue.
Backed by: Montanans Decide, Forward Montana
The case against
- Broad language could move routine election-process decisions from lawmakers to courts.
- Strict scrutiny could make reasonable rules for signatures, ballot language, or verification harder to enforce.
- Opponents say the existing constitutional and statutory framework is sufficient.
Opposed by: Montana Chamber of Commerce, Montana Republican Party
- Money
- No direct tax or state-cost estimate was stated in the sources reviewed.
- Don't be misled
- A claim that CI-133 removes every rule for ballot measures is misleading because it protects the process from unjustified burdens, not from all regulation.