To the Editor:
CI-132 is simple: Should Montana's judges be elected based on qualifications, or party affiliation?
For over 90 years, we've chosen qualifications. It works. I learned this firsthand during my business career. When Great Harvest went to court to protect trade secrets, I was grateful our judge followed the law and evidence—not party politics. That's what justice should be.
Most Montanans interact with courts through everyday cases: family disputes, traffic violations, property disagreements. These don't have a Republican or Democratic way to be handled. There's just the law.
Partisan judicial elections could create real problems. First, they introduce politics where it doesn't belong. Judges shouldn't have to worry about party leadership. Second, money floods in. Partisan campaigns cost big money, and judges potentially end up owing favors to donors instead of the Constitution.
What's telling is the grassroots support. Volunteers from every county collected over 100,000 signatures to get CI-132 on the ballot. That's Montanans across the political spectrum saying: keep our courts independent and unbiased.
A yes vote means protecting the impartial system we've relied on for nearly a century. It means judges answer to the law, not politics or money.
It's not about radical change. It's about preserving what works. Vote yes on CI-132.
Sincerely,
Debbie Huber
Dillon
Originally published in the Dillon Tribune on 9/29/26