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HELENA, Mont. — Friday, June 19, 2026, marked the deadline for submitting petition signatures for proposed statewide ballot issues to Montana county election administrators, triggering the process for local election officials to complete the verification and certification of signatures in accordance with state law.
County election officials will continue verifying signatures received by Friday’s deadline and must submit the petitions to the Montana Secretary of State’s Office by Friday, July 17. The Secretary of State’s Office will then conduct its review for the necessary statutory requirements to be qualify for the November General Election ballot.
The certification deadline for the November General Election ballot is Thursday, August 20. Once the ballot is certified, information about any qualifying statewide ballot issue(s) will be made available to voters through resources such as VoteMT.gov and the Voter Information Pamphlet.
Eight issues qualified to gather signatures for the 2026 General Election ballot. This election cycle marks the first implementation of new Montana laws, including Senate Bill 226, which requires petitions to be submitted within specific timeframes. House Bill 201 required paid signature gatherers to verbally and visibly disclose their name and the state in which they legally reside.
Roughly 500 paid signature gatherers representing a dozen organizations and 25 states were reported to the Montana Secretary of State’s Office, as seen here. Information about the proposed 2026 ballot issues can be found online at https://sosmt.gov/elections/ballot_issues/proposed-2026-ballot-issues/.