Nonpartisan state Supreme Court elections face test in Montana races

Amy Eddy and Dan Wilson campaign for the Montana Supreme Court as political parties spend heavily on judicial seats. Voters will decide the judicial race and a constitutional amendment protecting nonpartisan court elections on the November ballot.

Both candidates serve as district court judges in Flathead County. Eddy led Wilson by fewer than 8,000 votes out of roughly 270,000 cast in June. They were the only primary candidates. Both advanced to the general election.

The race comes after state high court decisions on abortion, voting, and climate change displeased Republicans. Montana’s Supreme Court voided laws that restricted abortion access. It also struck down limits on Election Day voter registration.

Rulings Spark Legislative Battles

The court upheld a ruling that the state breached constitutional rights to a clean environment. State agencies had permitted fossil fuel projects without considering climate effects. Eddy joined that majority as a substitute justice.

Republican lawmakers responded with several bills targeting the state judiciary. One enacted statute allows political parties to donate directly to judicial candidates. A bill requiring partisan judicial races passed the state Senate. It failed in the House.

Activists gathered petition signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot. The measure would explicitly enshrine nonpartisan judicial elections in Montana. Finance reports filed in late September show the American Civil Liberties Union gave $2.1 million to the ballot effort.

The ACLU mailed flyers praising Eddy’s stance on abortion rights. The mailers also highlighted her refusal of party donations. Defend Our Courts and organized labor also support Eddy.

Wilson received campaign funds from Republican Party committees. He spoke at a GOP event earlier this year. Each candidate criticized the other’s campaign funding.

Eddy said accepting money from political parties “undermines the public’s trust that the judicial branch can be impartial.”

Wilson pointed to donations Eddy received from practicing attorneys. Wilson said “that’s more dangerous and corrosive to the objectivity of judges.”

National Groups Target State Courts

Around two dozen states hold supreme court elections in November. Outside groups are spending millions of dollars on these races nationwide. Last year, donors spent over $100 million on a high court race in Wisconsin.

The ACLU is spending $5.5 million across high court races in Michigan, Montana, and North Carolina. The group previously spent over $1 million on judicial contests in Georgia and Wisconsin.

Deirdre Schifeling is the chief political and advocacy officer for the ACLU. “State supreme courts are really, really important , increasingly important , arbiters of rights and liberties,” Schifeling said.

Other states have altered how they select high court members. In August, Kansas voters rejected a plan to elect judges instead of appointing them. North Carolina lawmakers restored partisan judicial elections starting in 2018.

Ohio enacted a law in 2021 requiring party labels on general election ballots for supreme court candidates. Alliance for Justice Action aims to flip those courts over time.

Tish Gotell Faulks directs state courts work for the organization. “It has been a slow process of losing judicial support in those spaces. It will be a slow process to regain it,” Faulks said.

The winner in Montana will succeed a retiring justice who occasionally served as a swing vote. Douglas Keith works as deputy director of the judiciary program at the Brennan Center for Justice.

Keith said this cycle shapes future court control. “What happens in this year’s races will determine how likely it is that the ideology of the court flips in 2028, when that is in fact at stake,” Keith said.

State supreme courts serve as the final authority on interpretations of state constitutions. When vacancies arise, states use varying systems of nonpartisan elections, partisan ballots, or executive appointments. General election ballots allow registered voters to confirm judges or select candidates through direct voting.

Voting concluded in the primary, and the general election contest will finish in November across Montana.