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Proposed ballot initiatives would mean big changes for Montana elections

A pair of initiatives would create top-four primaries in the state and require winning general election candidates to receive a majority of the vote

A coalition of former Republican officials and a longtime third-party candidate are pushing a pair of constitutional amendment ballot initiatives for the 2024 cycle that would fundamentally alter Montana’s elections in what they describe as an effort to “reform our broken political system.”

The most substantive proposal would create a system of top-four open primaries for most state and federal elections in Montana, regardless of party. That would replace the current system — in which a voter can participate in the partisan primary of their choice — with a primary akin to those the state holds...