HELENA — A federal judge has blocked Montana from enforcing one section of a 2023 law that established requirements for voters changing their registration.

Last year, the Montana Legislature passed House Bill 892, sponsored by Rep. Lyn Hellegaard, R-Missoula. Supporters said the bill was intended to ensure people couldn’t vote twice in one election. While Montana already had a law in place saying no one could vote more than once in a single election, HB 892 added a specific prohibition on voting once in Montana and in an “equivalent election” in another state.

One provision of HB 892 said voters can’t “purposefully remain registered to vote in more than one place” and that they must provide their previous registration information when registering to vote at their new location.

MontPIRG and the Montana Federation of Public Employees sued, saying that language went beyond the goal of stopping double voting and left voters at risk of criminal penalties even if they never intended to vote twice. They argued the provision wasn’t clear about what was required of voters, and that some had legitimate reasons they might have registrations in more than one place.

Attorneys for the state, defending HB 892, said the law has been in effect and there hasn’t been any evidence it’s interfered with political participation, and that it would be a mistake to change the rules so close to the 2024 election.

U.S. District Judge Brian Morris said in a ruling Wednesday that the plaintiffs had shown a plausible case that the language was too broad. He put a preliminary injunction in place to stop the state from enforcing only the section on multiple registrations, allowing the rest of HB 892 to remain in effect. Morris said in his ruling that officials had testified that section wouldn’t substantially change the voter registration procedure in Montana, so temporarily blocking it wouldn’t create confusion for voters in this election.

Read the full ruling below:

Administrators of the Montana Food Bank Network say efforts to feed the hungry across the Treasure State are taking a major leap forward, as the agency finally commences construction on a new warehouse and headquarters.

“We’re so excited to have you join us and help us celebrate what this new facility is going to do for MFBN.”

Montana Food Bank Network CEO Gayle Carlson was beaming Thursday, as she and her dedicated staff, along with dozens of supporters and partners, gathered to break ground on the long-awaited warehouse and distribution center, completing a goal first launched in 2019.

New warehouse west of Missoula

MFBN leaders had discussed several options for the new warehouse, but felt remaining in Missoula was the best strategic decision for the long term.

“You know Montana’s a big state, and when you’re the only statewide food bank serving this area has massive challenges and a lot of it is the pressure of working out of a facility in one location. We have to cover that entire state from Missoula, and so our core facility has seen its better days.” 

READ MORE: Over 100,000 Montanans Are Food “Insecure”

New opportunities to feed 1 in 12 Montanans coping with hunger

Following a blessing of the ground with tribal representatives, Carlson and the others grasped ceremonial shovels and launched Montana’s hunger campaign into a new future, filled with new opportunities. Carlson and her team say the new facility will improve efficiency, providing more room for storing food when it becomes available from national sources, and giving local food pantries a place to store donations, especially from local sources.

Attention will now focus on the public campaign to raise additional funds for the new facility.    

Construction is slated to take 14 months.

Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Montana rose last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.

New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased to 563 in the week ending April 20, up from 509 the week before, the Labor Department said.

U.S. unemployment claims dropped to 207,000 last week, down 5,000 claims from 212,000 the week prior on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Rhode Island saw the largest percentage increase in weekly claims, with claims jumping by 231.4%. Virgin Islands, meanwhile, saw the largest percentage drop in new claims, with claims dropping by 60.9%.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly unemployment insurance claims report.