Late Friday, Lewis and Clark County District Judge Adam Larsen granted a preliminary injunction blocking a 2025 Montana law that would have cut off Election Day voter registration at noon for federal races, ensuring that the state’s popular same-day registration system will remain fully in place for the June 2 primary. The ruling is the latest setback for Montana Republicans, who have spent years trying to curtail a voting option that more than 70,000 residents have used since it was adopted in 2006 and that voters overwhelmingly chose to preserve in a 2014 ballot measure.
In a 24-page order, Larsen found that the restriction would disproportionately harm Native American and young voters, groups that face significant hurdles to registering early. “The undisputed record demonstrates that a substantial number of Montana voters rely on Election Day registration, including during afternoon hours,” he wrote. “The record further establishes that some voters will be unable to register prior to noon due to work schedules, travel constraints, polling place hours or unforeseen registration issues.” He noted that Native voters, including those from the Blackfeet and Northern Cheyenne tribes that joined the lawsuit, contend with “unique barriers” such as long travel distances and limited access to transportation. Students and other young voters face obstacles because they move more frequently and have “scheduling constraints,” he added.
The law, enacted last year by the Republican-controlled Legislature, was the second attempt to move away from Election Day registration. In 2021, lawmakers passed a bill ending registration at noon the day before an election, but the Montana Supreme Court struck it down in 2024, calling the right to vote an “unequivocal fundamental right” guaranteed by the state Constitution. The court noted that more than 70,000 Montanans had used same-day registration since its debut. Before passing the 2025 law, legislative staff warned in a memo that the measure could conflict with that 2024 decision.
Larsen, whose order remains in effect until a trial scheduled for late August, rejected the state’s argument that the restriction would make election administration easier. Local officials would be forced to handle federal races differently from state and local ones, he said, and some polling places in smaller precincts already do not open until noon. The judge also cited the 2014 ballot measure, in which 57% of voters opposed ending Election Day registration. “It is undisputed that Election Day registration is wildly popular in Montana,” he wrote.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office said it was disappointed. “Unrestricted voter registration on Election Day puts an undue burden on Montana’s election administrators who have very important jobs ensuring our elections are secure and run smoothly,” spokesperson Chase Scheuer said in an email.
Amanda Curtis, president of the Montana Federation of Public Employees, which brought the initial lawsuit, said the ruling defended “the fundamental right of every voice to be heard” against “overreaching politicians.” The challengers also targeted a provision in the 2025 law that specified which student IDs could be used at the polls, but Larsen concluded they had not shown that anyone was actually prevented from voting because of it. Scheuer said the ID changes “bolster the integrity of Montana elections.”
With the injunction in place, voters can register at any polling location through 8 p.m. on Election Day. The ruling gives election officials clarity ahead of the primary, while the underlying challenge awaits trial.