By Lillian Poulsen, Digital Organizer
Montanans Decide is the campaign for CI-133 – which aims to protect one of the most powerful tools of direct democracy – the citizen-led ballot measure process.
CI-133 is the ballot initiative to protect ballot initiatives. It would add protections in Montana’s Constitution that safeguard this process from government interference. Specifically, it bans the government from taking sides on ballot measures and prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars to sway your vote.
CI-133 also requires the state to allow ample time for signature gathering, prohibits disqualification of petitions because of minor or technical issues, and allows voters to withdraw their signatures if they so choose.
Forward Montana proudly endorses CI-133, and we encourage everyone to vote yes on this initiative in November.
What a yes vote means
Voting yes on CI-133 gives Montanans the right to vote on laws that affect our lives and protects that right from government interference.
Passing CI-133 ensures impartial, predictable, open, and timely processes for approving petitions and ballot statements. It specifies timelines for the resolution of legal challenges, verifying signatures, and ample time for signature gathering.
A yes vote shows that you care about keeping the government accountable to us, not the out-of-state interests buying up our land and housing at our expense.
Why should I care?
Ballot measures – also known as ballot issues or citizen initiatives – are one of the most powerful tools Montanans have to shape the laws that govern our lives. They allow voters to propose and pass laws directly.
The ballot measure process has been used to cap taxes, protect hunting and fishing access, restrict lobbying, raise the minimum wage, tax marijuana to support conservation efforts, expand hunter safety education, provide children’s healthcare, and keep the government out of our private medical decisions.
Ballot measures aren’t just for passing laws, they allow citizens to veto bad laws when government oversteps. We all deserve the chance to veto government overreach into our lives. CI-133 protects the Citizen’s Veto so we can keep the government accountable to us.
If CI-133 fails, the right to vote on ballot measures doesn’t disappear, but it will remain unprotected, leaving the door open to new barriers that could make the process unusable for regular Montanans without access to millions of dollars. The question isn’t whether we lose ballot measures; it’s whether the process will still work for Montana citizens when we need it.
Legal Challenges
CI-133 would enshrine protections for the ballot measure process in the Montana Constitution and protect initiatives from ongoing attacks by the legislature and executive branch.
Over the last decade, the Montana legislature has considered dozens of bills creating new restrictions and increasing costs of the citizen initiative process, many of which have passed.
Lobbyists and out-of-state interests have too much influence in Helena. In recent years, politicians have put up roadblocks including changing ballot language to push their own agendas and making signature collection more difficult and expensive.
During the 2025 legislature, there were 20 bills introduced to make this process more expensive and difficult. State officials have rewritten ballot language, ordered valid signatures thrown out, and have attempted to block ballot measures via higher fees and political interference.
CI-133 prevents politicians from piling on more costs and bureaucratic hurdles to the ballot measure process.
Who supports CI-133?
Ballot measures have a long history of keeping the government accountable to the voters and letting Montanans decide on issues that impact us. The process has been used successfully by parties across the political spectrum.
Polling on CI-133 shows that 68% of Montanans support the initiative. The Montanans Decide campaign gathered over 100,000 signatures before the deadline, so the measure will appear on the November ballot.
The Montanans Decide coalition includes former Montana Secretaries of State who served from both sides of the aisle, and Montana voters who want to protect our communities.
How you can help
This is an opportunity for voters to show their elected officials that Montanans know what’s best for Montana. This is our chance to protect direct democracy in Montana for generations to come.
Join the growing coalition and add your name to the endorsement list by heading to MontanansDecide.com or reaching out to info@montanansdecide.com.
Show your support: Put up a yard sign, distribute them to your neighbors, make a donation, or share Montanans Decide’s posts on social media.
Vote yes on CI-133 during the Midterm Election on November 3.