Montana Omnibus Election Law Bill Passes: the Ron Paul Clause
On April 8, the Montana legislature passed HB 91, the Secretary of State’s omnibus election law bill. It does not make any changes to the ballot access laws, except in a very narrow way. It makes it possible for presidential nominees of political parties to withdraw from the November ballot. This provision is in the bill because in 2008, the Constitution Party of Montana had nominated Ron Paul for President. At the time, the Secretary of State had no alternative but to print Paul’s name on the ballot, even though Paul didn’t want to be on the ballot.