Montana

Montana presidential primary gives option for “no preference” votes

Published

2 years ago

May 24, 2024

Montana presidential primary gives option for “no preference” votes

HELENA — Only two names are appearing on Montana’s presidential primary ballots this year: Joe Biden and Donald Trump. However, voters do have another option.

For 50 years, Montana law has required that voters in the state’s presidential primaries have a choice to vote “no preference” instead of for a candidate.

One group actively encouraging voters to support “no preference” is Montanans 4 Palestine, which has organized protests against Democratic and Republican politicians because of their stances on Israel’s war in Gaza. Several weeks ago, they announced they would campaign for a “no preference” vote in the Democratic primary as a way to protest the Biden administration, saying it hasn’t done enough to stand up against what they describe as a genocide.

“Ultimately, this is an expression of disgust with the president’s policies,” said co-founder Brendan Work.

Last weekend, Montanans 4 Palestine members were knocking on doors in Bozeman and Missoula to get out their message, and Work said they’ll be canvassing again this weekend. They’ve also distributed yard signs in several cities across the state.

Work said they’re making the case voting “no preference” is a low-risk way for people to show they’re unhappy with the administration.

“Biden has already won the nomination pretty much, and this vote is not like a vote for Trump,” he said. “So it’s a good way for people to express their feelings – and it’s easy to do: It’s right on the ballot; it says ‘Joe Biden,’ and ‘no preference.’ And that’s an easy choice for a lot of us.”

Jonathon Ambarian

A yard sign in Helena urges a “no preference” vote in Montana’s Democratic presidential primary, to protest the Biden administration’s policies on Gaza.

Work estimates his group has around 300 members, and he says it’s grown significantly since the start of the war in Gaza. He said their initial goal is to get 5,000 “no preference” votes, which he said would demonstrate there’s a “pro-peace constituency” that leaders need to listen to, especially in the closely watched race for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat. Their higher target is to crack 15% of the Democratic primary vote, which would allow for the selection of “no-preference” delegates for the Democratic National Convention. Work said that would likely take 20,000 votes.

This campaign follows visible efforts to encourage “uncommitted” votes in Democratic primaries in a number of other states, including Michigan, Washington and Wisconsin. That vote has often ended up between about 8% and 15%, reaching as high as nearly 19% in Minnesota’s primary and 29% in Hawaii’s caucus. However, Biden has won the overwhelming majority of delegates – projected by national analysts to be more than 3,600, compared with just over 30 uncommitted delegates.

A spokesperson for Biden’s campaign released a statement to MTN Thursday.

“The President believes making your voice heard and participating in our democracy is fundamental to who we are as Americans,” they said. “He shares the goal for an end to the violence and a just, lasting peace in the Middle East. He’s working tirelessly to that end.”

2024 will be the first time in 40 years that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have multiple candidates listed on their Montana primary ballot. In recent election cycles, the highest “no preference” vote totals have generally come when there’s only one candidate on the ballot – like in 2012, when “no preference” got 9.4% of the Democratic primary vote in Barack Obama’s reelection year, and in 2020, when Trump was the only Republican candidate and 6.2% of the vote was for “no preference.”

The largest share of “no preference” votes for both Republicans and Democrats in Montana came in 1992: 16.6% and 24%, respectively.

Montana “No Preference” Vote History:

1976:

Republicans: 2.2%, 1,996 votes
Democrats: 3.6%, 3,820 votes

1980:

Republicans: 3.8%, 3,014 votes
Democrats: 11.9%, 15,466 votes

1984:

Republicans: 7.5%, 5,378 votes
Democrats: 28,385 votes (Montana Democrats held a caucus and no candidates appeared on the primary ballot)

1988:

Republicans: 7.5%, 6,520 votes
Democrats: 3.6%, 4,083 votes

1992:

Republicans: 16.6%, 15,098 votes
Democrats: 24.0%, 28,164 votes

1996:

Republicans: 7.2%, 8,533 votes
Democrats: 10.0%, 9,176 votes

2000:

Republicans: 4.1%, 4,655 votes
Democrats: 22.1%, 19,447 votes

2004:

Republicans: 5.6%, 6,340 votes
Democrats: 7.4%, 6,899 votes

2008:

Republicans: 2.4%, 2,333 votes
Democrats: 2.4%, 4,358 votes

2012:

Republicans: 3.8%, 5,456 votes
Democrats: 9.4%, 8,270 votes

2016:

Republicans: 4.7%, 7,369 votes
Democrats: 4.2%, 5,415 votes

2020:

Republicans: 6.2%, 13,184 votes
Democrats: 2.8%, 4,250 votes

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Montana

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

Published

9 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

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Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

Published

21 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) – joined by Representative Pramila Jayapal, the Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and 22 other Members of Congress – sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons calling for the immediate closure of Camp East Montana in El Paso. They cite urgent humanitarian concerns following multiple deaths in custody, documented unsafe conditions, and serious deficiencies in medical care.

This marks the fourth letter Congresswoman Escobar has sent to DHS and ICE leadership. The previous three letters have gone unanswered.

The letter can be found in its entirety below and here.

“Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:

We are urgently calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to shut down Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas.

Camp East Montana has been operational for six months, and at least three people have died at the site since December 2025: Francisco Gaspar-Andres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, and Victor Manuel Diaz. The El Paso County Medical Examiner has officially ruled Lunas Campos’ death a homicide, citing “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”

Camp East Montana was constructed in a matter of weeks and opened before construction was complete and it does not have enough federal staff on-site to provide adequate oversight. Over the last several months, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, in whose district this facility is located, has sent multiple letters to DHS and ICE regarding concerns about the conditions at Camp East Montana, and has received no responses.

According to detainees, there have been constant and consistent problems at the facility since it opened, beginning with the facility’s poor construction and poor ambient temperature control. Upon opening, the drinking water at Camp East Montana tasted foul and made some detainees sick. Detainees continue to be served inadequate meals, including food that is rotten or frozen; last fall, the facility was also consistently failing to make dietary accommodations for detainees. Detainees have shared that they have sporadic access to outside spaces and recreational areas, and that their dormitory pods are cleaned only once every eight days, despite pods housing up to 72 people at a time. Laundry services are not consistent, and people are washing their clothes in the facility showers. Additionally, the facility experiences flooding and sewage backups when it rains, leading to stagnant water.

One of the biggest concerns with the Camp East Montana facility is the inadequate medical care being provided to detainees. Our offices have heard that only the most ill detainees are referred to the medical unit and that there are inconsistencies as to how soon after arriving detainees are able to undergo initial medical screenings. Detainees with chronic health issues who rely on regimented medications for their health have had difficulty accessing necessary medications, including blood pressure medication and insulin.

At least one of the deaths that occurred in ICE custody, the death of Francisco Gaspar-Andres, appears to partially be the result of poor medical care by staff at the facility. According to ICE’s own account, Gaspar-Andres sought medical attention from facility staff for increasingly serious symptoms, but was only transferred to an area hospital once his condition had severely deteriorated.

In addition to our concerns about poor medical care, we are also aware that detainees have experienced irregular access to their legal counsel, including instances of detainees having only two minutes allotted per phone call every 8 days, which is contrary to ICE’s Detention Standards on access to counsel, and that the belatedly created law library lacks adequate resources for the amount of people currently held at the facility. In January 2026, ICE announced the on-site death of Geraldo Lunas Campos “after experiencing medical distress.” ICE opened an investigation into the death, but did not provide a cause of death. However, The Washington Post later reported that another man detained at Camp East Montana had witnessed guards choking Lunas Campos when he refused to enter a segregated housing unit. Weeks later, the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled that Lunas Campos had experienced “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression” and ruled his death a homicide.

Lunas Campos is the first detainee to die at Camp East Montana as a result of a use-of-force incident, but we are strongly concerned that he will not be the last if ICE is allowed to continue operating Camp East Montana.

ICE was given $45 billion in taxpayer dollars in the reconciliation bill, $1.2 billion of which were awarded to Acquisition Logistics, LLC, a company with no previous experience managing immigration detention facilities, to build and oversee Camp East Montana. However, in the wake of three deaths in custody so far, continued concerns about conditions at the facility, and ICE’s apparent disinterest in responding to oversight letters from Congress, we do not believe Camp East Montana is being run professionally or responsibly.

Camp East Montana must be shut down. For the safety of everyone at the facility, for an end to abuses to detainees, and for fiscal responsibility to the American people, the site cannot continue to operate. We are calling on DHS and ICE to move to immediately close operations at Camp East Montana.

We look forward to hearing from the Department promptly on this matter.

The other co-signers include Representatives Yassamin Ansari, Nanette Barragán, Yvette Clarke, Lloyd Doggett, Maxwell Frost, Jesús “Chuy” García, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Henry Johnson, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delia Ramirez, Andrea Salinas, Janice Schakowsky, Darren Soto, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Lauren Underwood, Gabe Vasquez, and Nydia Velázquez.

Issues: Immigration

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Montana

Governor’s energy task force continues public discussions on data centers

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Governor’s energy task force continues public discussions on data centers

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