Montana Supreme Court justices listen to oral arguments on May 15, 2024. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)

A unanimous Montana Supreme Court has found that Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen had no basis for rewriting a constitutional initiative ballot statement that would make all district and Supreme Court judges nonpartisan.

It ordered the Montana Secretary of State, Christi Jacobsen, to restore Montanans For Fair and Impartial Judges’ language and certify the measure for signature collection.

This is the second time in a month the state’s highest court, and the court that handles matters of constitutional initiatives, has overturned a decision by Knudsen’s office involving ballot language.

Knudsen, a longtime Montana politician, is serving his second term as the state’s

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