Montana Democratic Party Files COPP Complaint Against Republicans Ineligible to Run for the Legislature
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 18, 2024
CONTACT
gaby@montanademocrats.org
Helena, MT— Yesterday, the Montana Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Political Practices (COPP) against two Republican legislative candidates for violating MCA 13-25-207 by knowingly participating in deceptive election practices by running for office in districts for which they are legally ineligible.
The addresses provided by the candidates on their statements of candidate form were outside of the district they filed for and state law requires any candidate running in a legislative district that crosses county lines to live within the district boundaries.
The two candidates running out of district are Bill Hodges of Hardin, who is running for House District 42, which contains the Crow Reservation and Big Horn and Yellowstone Counties, and Kevin Taylor of Glasgow, who is running in House District 31, which includes the Fort Peck Reservation, and Roosevelt, Valley, Philips, and Blaine counties
However, according to the paperwork filed with COPP, Mr. Hodges actually lives in House District 41, making him ineligible to run for and serve in the Legislature in House District 42. According to his paperwork, Mr. Taylor lives in House District 28, making him ineligible to run for and serve in the Legislature in House District 42.
“Montanans deserve to have a representative who understands their specific communities–and that is especially true for Indian Country,” said Sheila Hogan, Executive Director of the Montana Democratic Party. “It’s not just the rules, it’s common sense: elected leaders should live in the district they are representing. If we let this slide, what’s next? We don’t want to create a precedent where candidates can follow whatever laws and rules they feel like.”
The complaints can be found here.
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