This year, Montanans voted on two election reforms ballot measures CI-126 and CI-127. As of Wednesday afternoon, the votes tallied showed both measures down and at least CI-127 appeared to fail.

If CI-126 passes, all candidates will appear on the same primary ballot, with their preferred political party or “no party preference” listed. Voters will choose one candidate for each position, and the top four finishers, regardless of party, will advance to the general election.

As of 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, CI-126 was down 48% in favor to 52% against with 537,143 votes cast.

Montanans for Election Reform, the bipartisan group supporting CI-126, said the race was still close with about 80,000 votes remaining to be counted in the state.

“Today is a disappointing day as we see politicians and special interests once again succeed in preventing Montanans from gaining more power in our elections,” said Frank Garner, board member of the SEA. “We fought hard against entrenched politicians and special interests who didn’t want to give voters more votes and better choices on the ballot because the current system benefits them, not the voters. We remain convinced that open primaries are a powerful tool for holding politicians accountable and putting power over our elections in the hands of voters, but they are not the only way forward. We will continue to defend freedom and choice in our elections.

CI-127 would have changed the rules for general elections. Instead of only the candidate with the most votes winning, a candidate would need to receive a majority – at least 50% of the vote – to win. Parliament will have to pass a law to establish the rules governing what will happen if no candidate obtains a majority; Garner said he sees runoff elections or a ranked-choice system as the two realistic possibilities.

As of 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, CI-127 was down 39% in favor to 61% opposed with 528,778 votes cast.

Montanans for Election Reform, the bipartisan group supporting CI-126