Montana

Why is the GOP so Paranoid About Montana Voters?

Published

2 years ago

July 15, 2024

Why is the GOP so Paranoid About Montana Voters?

Photograph Source: Tracey Elizabeth – CC BY 2.0

It’s truly a mystery right now watching the incredible efforts by Montana’s Secretary of State, Christi Jacobsen, to try and disqualify voters who signed citizen initiatives from being counted. Their twisted logic and faulty interpretation of the Montana Constitution reflects a deep paranoia on the part of the Republicans toward Montana’s citizens and voters.

The burning question is “what are they so afraid of?”

It doesn’t take a long memory to recall how the GOP went into Trump-fueled hysterics over election integrity in 2020, in which Republicans won every statewide office.

Other than mimicking Trump’s endless and baseless “stolen election” lies, one might wonder what they intended to find and why? What, were the Republicans going to say their own election victories were illegitimate and challenge the right of their own candidates to hold office? Were they going to call for endless recounts so maybe a hapless Democrat could win at least one statewide office?

Since none of that sounds even marginally reasonable, it appears the GOP simply doesn’t trust the good people of Montana — nor the hundreds of election workers who have and continue to dedicate themselves to free, open, and dang near error-free elections as they have for many years.

Were one to look at what’s going on now — and has gone on in the past — it seems pretty clear that the Republicans are trying their best to gut Montana’s constitutionally-guaranteed right to the citizen initiative process. And why might they being doing so? Because the GOP cannot exert the kind of absolute control over citizen initiatives that they can and do enforce in the legislative and executive branches.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize Montana’s citizens have passed initiatives the legislature never would have let out of the first committee. Going way back to 1978, the good and sensible voters of Montana passed an initiative to mandate that citizens had the right to vote on the installation of nuclear power plants in our state. That was overturned on a GOP party-line vote in the 2021 legislative session, transferring the authority away from the citizens and to, of course, the legislature.

Then there was the citizens initiative to ban the use of cyanide heap leach gold mining Montanans approved in 1998, which still stands despite numerous efforts to overturn it. Does anyone believe the legislature would ever have passed a law to prohibit the mining industry from poisoning our waters with cyanide?

Or how about the citizens initiatives legalizing the use of both medicinal (2004) and recreational (2020) marijuana? The legislature would never have approved such laws and was sued for wading into the initiative’s language after the election to weaken and alter the provisions the citizens overwhelmingly approved.

Now, Jacobsen’s office is being sued — this time by proponents of three pending initiatives. CI-128 asks voters to approve a constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion access, CI-126, which instills open primaries, and C1-127, which requires a candidate to receive over 50% of the vote to win. Ironically, the proponents of the election initiatives are Jacobsen’s fellow Republicans.

It’s a foundational truth that power never relinquishes power without a fight.

What’s strange is that Montana’s Republican Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Governor all seem to fear their almost unassailable hold on power is somehow being threatened by the very citizens they were elected to serve — not command, control, and intimidate for exercising their constitutional right to the initiative process.

Source link

Montana

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

Published

10 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

ROUNDUP, Mont. —
The Rehder Creek Fire is burning 16 miles southeast of Roundup has grown to about 5,000 acres, prompting evacuation orders for residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision.

The fire started Feb. 26, the cause is unknown and containment was at 0%.

Evacuation orders are in effect for all residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision. The Musselshell County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating the evacuation orders, and 911 reverse calls have been sent out to advise people in the area.

A shelter is opening at the Roundup Community Center. Residents were told to contact Musselshell County DES for further information.

Firefighter and public safety remain the top priority. The public is asked to avoid the Fattig Creek and Rehder Road area so emergency personnel can safely and effectively perform their work.

Fire resources assigned to the incident include 40 total personnel, 11 engines, one Type 2 helicopter, three tenders and two dozers.

Source link

Montana

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

Published

22 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

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

State

Zip Code

Country

Source link

Montana

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

Published

1 day 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

Source link