House Bill No. introduced by D. Bedey and J. Fuller aims to revise the laws surrounding elector registration in Montana by implementing new requirements related to United States citizenship status. The bill mandates that the Secretary of State record the citizenship status of registered electors and establish procedures to verify the citizenship of new applicants, particularly in the event of a contingency. New applicants will be required to provide proof of citizenship, and those who fail to demonstrate their citizenship may be removed from the voter rolls. The bill also includes provisions for rulemaking authority to facilitate these changes and amends several sections of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) to reflect these updates.

Key amendments include the addition of language requiring the Secretary of State to adopt rules for recording citizenship statuses and verifying the citizenship of new applicants. Specifically, Section 13-2-108 is amended to include the recording of citizenship statuses, while Section 13-2-109 introduces procedures for determining citizenship status. Additionally, Section 13-2-110 requires applicants to provide proof of citizenship as prescribed by the Secretary of State. The bill also outlines the conditions under which an elector's registration may be canceled, including failure to demonstrate citizenship. The effective date of the bill is set for October 1, 2025, unless federal law changes allow for earlier implementation.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 13-2-108, 13-2-109, 13-2-110, 13-2-402, 61-14-301
HB0286_1(1): 13-2-108, 13-2-109, 13-2-110, 13-2-402, 61-14-301
HB0286_1(2): 13-2-108, 13-2-109, 13-2-110, 13-2-402, 61-14-301
HB0286_1(3): 13-2-108, 13-2-109, 13-2-110, 13-2-402, 61-14-301
HB0286_1(4): 13-2-108, 13-2-109, 13-2-110, 13-2-402, 61-14-301
HB0286_1: 13-2-108, 13-2-109, 13-2-110, 13-2-402, 61-14-301