Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 13 > Chapter 1 - General Provisions

• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Anything of value: means any goods that have a certain utility to the recipient that is real and that is ordinarily not given away free but is purchased. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Application for voter registration: means a voter registration form prescribed by the secretary of state that is completed and signed by an elector, is submitted to the election administrator, and contains voter registration information subject to verification as provided by law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Ballot: means a paper ballot counted manually or a paper ballot counted by a machine, such as an optical scan system or other technology that automatically tabulates votes cast by processing the paper ballots. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Ballot issue committee: means a political committee specifically organized to support or oppose a ballot issue. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Candidate: means :

  (a)an individual who has filed a declaration or petition for nomination, acceptance of nomination, or appointment as a candidate for public office as required by law;

  (b)for the purposes of chapter 35, 36, or 37, an individual who has solicited or received and retained contributions, made expenditures, or given consent to an individual, organization, political party, or committee to solicit or receive and retain contributions or make expenditures on the individual's behalf to secure nomination or election to any office at any time, whether or not the office for which the individual will seek nomination or election is known when the:

  (i)solicitation is made;

  (ii)contribution is received and retained; or

  (iii)expenditure is made; or

  (c)an officeholder who is the subject of a recall election. See Montana Code 13-1-101

• Contribution: means :

  (i)the receipt by a candidate or a political committee of an advance, gift, loan, conveyance, deposit, payment, or distribution of money or anything of value to support or oppose a candidate or a ballot issue;

  (ii)an expenditure, including an in-kind expenditure, that is made in coordination with a candidate or ballot issue committee and is reportable by the candidate or ballot issue committee as a contribution;

  (iii)the receipt by a political committee of funds transferred from another political committee; or

  (iv)the payment by a person other than a candidate or political committee of compensation for the personal services of another person that are rendered to a candidate or political committee. See Montana Code 13-1-101

• Disability: means a temporary or permanent mental or physical impairment such as:

  (a)impaired vision;

  (b)impaired hearing;

  (c)impaired mobility. See Montana Code 13-1-101

• Election: means a general, special, or primary election held pursuant to the requirements of state law, regardless of the time or purpose. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Election administrator: means , except as provided in subsection (14)(b), the county clerk and recorder or the individual designated by a county governing body to be responsible for all election administration duties, except that with regard to school elections not administered by the county, the term means the school district clerk. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Election communication: means the following forms of communication to support or oppose a candidate or ballot issue:

  (i)a paid advertisement broadcast over radio, television, cable, or satellite;

  (ii)paid placement of content on the internet or other electronic communication network;

  (iii)a paid advertisement published in a newspaper or periodical or on a billboard;

  (iv)a mailing; or

  (v)printed materials. See Montana Code 13-1-101

• Election judge: means a person who is appointed pursuant to Title 13, chapter 4, part 1, to perform duties as specified by law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Election official: means an election administrator, election deputy, or election judge. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Electioneering communication: means a paid communication that is publicly distributed by radio, television, cable, satellite, internet website, newspaper, periodical, billboard, mail, or any other distribution of printed materials, that is made within 60 days of the initiation of voting in an election, that does not support or oppose a candidate or ballot issue, that can be received by more than 100 recipients in the district voting on the candidate or ballot issue, and that:

  (i)refers to one or more clearly identified candidates in that election;

  (ii)depicts the name, image, likeness, or voice of one or more clearly identified candidates in that election; or

  (iii)refers to a political party, ballot issue, or other question submitted to the voters in that election. See Montana Code 13-1-101

• Elector: means an individual qualified to vote under state law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Expenditure: means a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, promise, pledge, or gift of money or anything of value:

  (i)made by a candidate or political committee to support or oppose a candidate or a ballot issue;

  (ii)made by a candidate while the candidate is engaging in campaign activity to pay child-care expenses as provided in 13-37-220; or

  (iii)used or intended for use in making independent expenditures or in producing electioneering communications. See Montana Code 13-1-101

• Federal election: means an election in even-numbered years in which an elector may vote for individuals for the office of president of the United States or for the United States congress. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• General election: means an election that is held for offices that first appear on a primary election ballot, unless the primary is canceled as authorized by law, and that is held on a date specified in 13-1-104. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Inactive list: means a list of inactive electors maintained pursuant to 13-2-220 or 13-19-313. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Independent expenditure: means an expenditure for an election communication to support or oppose a candidate or ballot issue made at any time that is not coordinated with a candidate or ballot issue committee. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Individual: means a human being. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• issue: means a proposal submitted to the people at an election for their approval or rejection, including but not limited to an initiative, referendum, proposed constitutional amendment, recall question, school levy question, bond issue question, or ballot question. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Judicial officer: includes all judicial officers, justices, district court judges, and judges of the judicial branch of state government. See Montana Code 2-2-102
• Judicial officers: means justices of the supreme court, judges of the district courts, justices of the peace, municipal judges, and city judges. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Local government: means a county, a consolidated government, an incorporated city or town, a school district, or a special district. See Montana Code 2-2-102
• Mail ballot election: means any election that is conducted under Title 13, chapter 19, by mailing ballots to all active electors. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Majority party: means the party with the most members in a house of the legislature, subject to subsection (2). See Montana Code 1-1-208
• Minority party: means the party with the second most members in a house of the legislature, subject to subsection (2). See Montana Code 1-1-208
• Person: means an individual, corporation, association, firm, partnership, cooperative, committee, including a political committee, club, union, or other organization or group of individuals or a candidate as defined in subsection (8). See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Place of deposit: means a location designated by the election administrator pursuant to 13-19-307 for a mail ballot election conducted under Title 13, chapter 19. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Political committee: means a combination of two or more individuals or a person other than an individual who receives a contribution or makes an expenditure:

  (i)to support or oppose a candidate or a committee organized to support or oppose a candidate or a petition for nomination;

  (ii)to support or oppose a ballot issue or a committee organized to support or oppose a ballot issue; or

  (iii)to prepare or disseminate an election communication, an electioneering communication, or an independent expenditure. See Montana Code 13-1-101

• Political party organization: means a political organization that:

  (a)was represented on the official ballot in either of the two most recent statewide general elections; or

  (b)has met the petition requirements provided in Title 13, chapter 10, part 5. See Montana Code 13-1-101

• Political subdivision: means a county, consolidated municipal-county government, municipality, special purpose district, or any other unit of government, except school districts, having authority to hold an election. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Polling place election: means an election primarily conducted at polling places rather than by mail under the provisions of Title 13, chapter 19. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• primary election: means an election held on a date specified in 13-1-107 to nominate candidates for offices filled at a general election. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Private interest: means an interest held by an individual that is:

  (a)an ownership interest in a business;

  (b)a creditor interest in an insolvent business;

  (c)an employment or prospective employment for which negotiations have begun;

  (d)an ownership interest in real property;

  (e)a loan or other debtor interest; or

  (f)a directorship or officership in a business. See Montana Code 2-2-102

• Public information: has the meaning provided in 2-6-1002. See Montana Code 2-2-102
• Public office: means a state, county, municipal, school, or other district office that is filled by the people at an election. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Random-sample audit: means an audit involving a manual count of ballots from designated races and ballot issues in precincts selected through a random process as provided in 13-17-503 and 13-17-510. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Real property: means lands, tenements, hereditaments, and possessory title to public lands. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Regular school election: means the school trustee election provided for in 20-20-105(1). See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Religious organization: means a house of worship with the major purpose of supporting religious activities, including but not limited to a church, mosque, shrine, synagogue, or temple. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• School election: has the meaning provided in 20-1-101. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Special election: means an election held on a day other than the day specified for a primary election, general election, or regular school election. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Special purpose district: means an area with special boundaries created as authorized by law for a specialized and limited purpose. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• State agency: includes :

  (i)the state;

  (ii)the legislature and its committees;

  (iii)all executive departments, boards, commissions, committees, bureaus, and offices;

  (iv)the university system; and

  (v)all independent commissions and other establishments of the state government. See Montana Code 2-2-102

• State officer: includes all elected officers and directors of the executive branch of state government as defined in 2-15-102 and all judicial officers, justices, district court judges, and judges of the judicial branch of state government. See Montana Code 2-2-102
• Statewide voter registration list: means the voter registration list established and maintained pursuant to 13-2-107 and 13-2-108. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• system: means any machine, device, technology, or equipment used to automatically record, tabulate, or process the vote of an elector cast on a paper ballot. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Valid vote: means a vote that has been counted as valid or determined to be valid as provided in 13-15-206. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Voted ballot: means a ballot that is:

  (a)deposited in the ballot box at a polling place;

  (b)received at the election administrator's office; or

  (c)returned to a place of deposit. See Montana Code 13-1-101

• Voter interface device: means a voting system that:

  (a)is accessible to electors with disabilities;

  (b)communicates voting instructions and ballot information to a voter;

  (c)allows the voter to select and vote for candidates and issues and to verify and change selections; and

  (d)produces a paper ballot that displays electors' choices so the elector can confirm the ballot's accuracy and that may be manually counted. See Montana Code 13-1-101