Montana

Secretary of State postcard complaint dismissed • Daily Montanan

Published

1 month ago

January 17, 2026

Secretary of State postcard complaint dismissed • Daily Montanan

A postcard that came under fire from Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen is not a violation of Montana’s code of ethics or other campaign laws, Commissioner of Political Practices Chris Gallus said Friday in response to a complaint.

In a letter rejecting the complaint, Gallus said the mailing could be viewed as partisan but that doesn’t mean it creates a violation under his jurisdiction.

Last week, a Harlowton voter filed a complaint alleging the Secretary of State’s Office should not have used taxpayer dollars to pay for the postcard, which said “only citizens should be allowed to vote.”

The Secretary of State’s Office has not responded to a question about the cost of the postcard or how many Montanans received it. Montana has nearly 785,000 registered voters.

The postcard announced a partnership with the federal government to “strengthen election security” and featured a picture of Secretary Christi Jacobsen and President Donald Trump.

The complaint said the postcard pushed a false narrative that “elections are rigged” and “someone other than citizens” are voting.

However, Gallus said the complaint does not clearly allege any violation of statute over which he has jurisdiction. He also said elected officials have a responsibility to communicate with citizens, and voters elected the Secretary of State based in part on her political leanings.

“Expecting that all communication following an election would be devoid of a political bent so as to avoid any criticism or open debate is unreasonable and impracticable,” Gallus wrote in the letter.

Gallus said he wanted to address the complaint in detail because his office has received numerous inquiries about the postcard in relation to “the use of government funds or resources.”

“Montana’s elected officials routinely provide communications to Montana citizens which under a certain lens may appear to be political,” Gallus wrote. “Montana laws do prohibit the use of public resources for political purposes.”

But he said he and staff in his office reviewed the mailer, and it does not appear to violate any provision of the Montana Code of Ethics or any campaign regulation because it “does not have a political purpose” as defined by law.

In making that determination, he said, he looks for words that solicit support or opposition to any political committee; nomination or election of a person to public office; or passage of a ballot issue. That means language such as “vote,” “oppose,” “support,” “elect,” “defeat,” or “reject.”

Gallus said his office also looks at whether material depicts a clearly identified candidate, party or ballot issue “in a manner that is susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as a call for the nomination, election or defeat” of the candidate or issue.

Gallus said it is a high bar, and the postcard doesn’t meet the threshold. He said neither Jacobsen or Trump are currently running for office, and the mailing doesn’t include any express words of support.

“Public officials have associated duties, which include communicating with constituents,” Gallus wrote. “For Montana’s Secretary of State, this means communicating with all voters regarding elections, voting and the SOS positions on citizen only voting, which she appears to be doing here.”

In a subsequent news release, the Secretary of State’s Office said it had identified 23 potential non-citizens who had voted. A spokesperson did not answer questions about when they most recently voted, what counties they had voted in, or what the next steps would be.

Missoula County Elections Administrator Bradley Seaman said earlier the 23 potential non-citizens indicated the current system is working well; it represented 29-one-thousandths of 1 percent of voters.

Seaman also said it is important to address those findings as soon as possible. He pointed to a recent tied vote in Missoula County where one vote would have made a difference. (In that case, a council race, the Missoula City Council made the appointment.)

To vote in Montana, people need to be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old before the election, and a Montana resident for at least 30 days before the next election.

Jacobsen mailer question_Beley response letter (1)

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Montana

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

1 hour ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

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Montana

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

Published

13 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

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Montana

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

HELENA — You probably have goals and plans for 2026—the Montana Department of Agriculture does too.

“We’re really focusing on innovative agricultural practices,” Montana Department of Agriculture director Jillien Streit said.

It’s no secret that agriculture—farming and ranching—is not easy. There are long days, planning, monitoring crops and livestock, and other challenges beyond farmers’ and ranchers’ control.

(WATCH: Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026)

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

“We have very low commodity prices across the board,” Streit said. “We still have very high input prices across the board, and we have really high prices when it comes to our equipment, and so, it’s a really tough year.”

But innovation, including new practices, partnerships and technology use, can help navigate some of those challenges.

“We can’t make more time and we can’t make more land, so we need to start putting together innovative practices that help us maximize what our time and land can do,” Streit said.

Practices range from using technology like autonomous tractors and virtual fencing—allowing rangers to contain and move cattle right from their phones—to regenerative farming and ranching.

“It is bringing cattle back into farming operations to be able to work with cover cropping practices to invigorate the soil for new soil health benefits,” Streit said.

The Montana Department of Agriculture is working to help producers learn, share, and collaborate on new ideas to work in their operations.

The department will share stories of practices that work from farms and ranches across the state. Also, within the next year or so, Streit said the department is hoping to roll out technology to help producers collaborate.

“(It’s) providing a communication platform where people can get together and really help each other out by utilizing each other’s assets,” she said.

While not easy, agriculture is still one of Montana’s largest industries, and Streit said innovating and sharing ideas across the state can keep it going long into the future.

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