Decision to put Butte data center issue to voters vacated by court
The Montana Supreme Court vacated an earlier ruling that would have placed a citizen's initiative to regulate data center construction on the ballot for Butte-Silver Bow voters. The court cited that ballots had already been mailed, making it impossible to comply with the order. Proponents of the measure are now considering their next legal steps.
The Montana Supreme Court reversed its decision regarding a citizen's initiative in Butte-Silver Bow that sought to require voter approval for data center construction. The court had initially ordered the initiative to appear on November ballots but vacated this ruling upon learning that the Butte-Silver Bow elections office had already mailed absentee and mail ballots to voters.
The initiative, spearheaded by Denise Kelly and the citizens' group 406 People First, had gathered enough signatures but was challenged by election officials who cited a new state law changing the deadline. After the district court ruled against the proponents, they appealed to the Montana Supreme Court, which initially sided with them, arguing that if the initiative was later found to be legally compliant, there would be no remedy if it were left off the ballot.
However, the court's subsequent reversal stated that there is "no remedy" under state law to correct ballots once they are mailed, acknowledging that it was unaware of the ballot status during its initial ruling. The court criticized the city-county for not providing this information earlier. 406 People First representatives are now consulting legal counsel to determine their next actions, including filing an emergency petition for reconsideration.