HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union plans to spend $1.3 million on campaign advertising to educate Montana voters about where state Supreme Court candidates stand on abortion and other civil rights issues with a measure constitutionally protecting protect abortion access also on the ballot.

The expenditure comes after Republicans tried unsuccessfully in 2022 to unseat a justice by making an unprecedented partisan endorsement of her challenger. GOP lawmakers also argue that the Supreme Court has been legislating from the bench in blocking laws to restrict abortion access or make it more difficult to vote.

“With politicians passing increasingly extreme laws, including abortion restrictions and bans, voters have the opportunity to elect justices who will protect fundamental rights in the state from these attacks,” the national ACLU and the ACLU of Montana said in a statement Thursday.

State Supreme Court candidates cannot seek, accept or use partisan endorsements. The ACLU of Montana said it was not endorsing any candidates.

“From abortion to marriage equality and Indigenous voting rights, the people we entrust with seats on the Supreme Court of Montana will play a critical role in determining whether we keep the rights Montanans value or whether politicians will be allowed to take away our freedom,” Akilah Deernose, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.

The ACLU wants to make sure voters know where Supreme Court candidates stand on those issues “so that they can cast an informed ballot this November,” Deernose said.

The $1.3 million is the most the ACLU has spent on a Montana election, spokesperson Andrew Everett said. The ACLU is also spending money on Supreme Court races in Arizona, Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina.

Money has increasingly poured into state Supreme Court races in recent years, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and sent the abortion issue back to states, said Mike Milov-Cordoba of the Brennan Center for Justice.

Voters generally don’t have “strong preconceptions” of candidates in Supreme Court races, so the ad buy is “potentially significant,” he said.

Total spending on two Montana Supreme Court races in 2022 was a record $4.6 million, including $500,000 by the state Republican Party, according to the Brennan Center.

Milov-Cordoba said he wouldn’t be surprised to see similar spending this year, “especially given the conservatives’ frustration with the Montana Supreme Court pushing back on unconstitutional laws.”

The ACLU ads and mailers note that chief justice candidate Jerry Lynch and associate justice candidate Katherine Bidegaray agree with the analysis in a 1999 Montana Supreme Court ruling that found the state’s constitutional right to privacy protects the right to a pre-viability abortion from the provider of the patient’s choice.

Chief justice candidate Cory Swanson said it was not appropriate for him to comment on a case that may come before the court in the future, and associate justice candidate Dan Wilson did not respond to a survey sent out by the ACLU of Montana, the organization said.

A campaign committee, Montanans for Fair and Impartial Courts, has reported spending just over $425,000 for television ads endorsing Lynch, state campaign finance reports indicate.

Montana voters are being asked this fall whether the 1999 Supreme Court ruling should be enshrined in the constitution.

Historically, conservatives have accounted for a far greater share of spending in state Supreme Court races, Milov-Cordoba said. But since Roe v. Wade was overturned, groups on the left have nearly equaled that nationwide.

While abortion is a major issue driving the increased spending, state Supreme Courts are also being asked to rule in cases involving partisan gerrymandering, voting rights and climate change, he said.

“So who sits on those courts is a high-stakes matter,” he said.

I have always been fascinated with abandoned houses. What happened? Why is abandoned? Did something creepy happen here? There is a road trip you can take if history, ghosts, and abandoned houses are your thing.

The whole trip only takes about 8 hours, making this is the perfect little day trip, or night trip if you really don’t scare easily. I prefer it in the day. I don’t like the idea of a silhouette standing in my rearview mirror as I drive away. Personal opinion.

The best way to start the trip is heading to Lobby Café or Lobby Bar, in Great Falls, MT. This Café used to have a hotel above it where drifters used to stay. It’s reported that some of those drifters died there and the Lobby Café/Bar is haunted by 12 different spirits.

Next stop, Garnet Ghost Town in Drummond, MT. The town is vacant, but it was the site for gold miners and families in the 1800s and some say there are still some spirits that wander. Footprints in the winter and the sound of a piano being played are a few of the observations for the vacant ghost town.

Your third stop is Dumas Brothel Museum in Butte, MT. Some say it’s haunted, some say it’s not. Either way, there are lots of haunting stories and even some ghosts caught in pictures by tourists.

Now you will head to Mount Moriah Cemetery. Also nestled in Butte, it’s said that just before dark you can catch a sighting of a wheelchair-bound spirit going for a stroll.

Heading to Boulder Hot Springs, in Boulder, MT, hopefully, you are not planning on sleeping while you stay here. Some say it is haunted by a murdered “lady of the night”.

Your last stop is going to be The Original Governor’s Mansion in Helena, MT. Built in 1887, housemaids and caretakers claimed it was haunted. From the sound of footsteps, crooked pictures on the walls, and doors slamming, this is definitely a good last stop. Maybe you will see the black cat that frequents the place, don’t get too close though, he may not be there as you thought.

Planned Parenthood of Montana says it discovered a data breach last week. The attackers may have already posted some info online.

Planned Parenthood president Martha Fuller says the attack was discovered on Aug. 28. She says her IT team immediately took security measures to mitigate the damage. Fuller says they’re investigating what information may have been taken.

The attackers are known as Ransom Hub and federal officials have warned that the group is targeting health care facilities. Planned Parenthood is aware that the group posted a file online allegedly containing data it took from the nonprofit.

Kaustubh Medhe with Cyble, a cyber threat intelligence & research firm, says Ransom Hub is a financially motivated group.

“The ransomware groups are interested in selling this data or extorting a ransom from the group to prevent them from suffering reputational damage,” said Medhe.

Other abortion providers have been victims of cyberattacks, including Planned Parenthood L.A. and the organization’s national website. Cybersecurity experts say these attacks can be both politically and financially motivated.

They worry that patients can suffer legal consequences if they live in states where abortion is criminalized or suffer personal attacks if their data is sold or released by attackers.