Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 13 > Chapter 35 - Election and Campaign Practices and Criminal Provisions

• Acquaintance: means an individual known by the voter. See Montana Code 13-35-702
• 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
• 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
• Bribe: means anything of value or advantage, present or prospective, or any promise or undertaking to give anything of value or advantage, that is asked, given, or accepted with a corrupt intent to unlawfully influence the person to whom it is given in the person's action, vote, or opinion in any public or official capacity. See Montana Code 1-1-207
• Campaign literature: means material that advocates the success or defeat of a candidate, political party, or ballot issue. See Montana Code 13-35-602
• 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

• Caregiver: means an individual who provides medical or health care assistance to the voter in a residence, nursing care institution, hospice facility, assisted living center, assisted living home, residential care institution, adult day health care facility, or adult foster care home. See Montana Code 13-35-702
• Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
• Cloture: The only procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and thereby overcome a filibuster. Under the cloture rule (Rule XXII), the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours, but only by vote of three-fifths of the full Senate, normally 60 votes.
• Collect: means to gain possession or control of a ballot. See Montana Code 13-35-702
• 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

• 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 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
• Election worker: means an individual designated by an election official to perform election support duties. 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

• Family member: means an individual who is related to the voter by blood, marriage, adoption, or legal guardianship. See Montana Code 13-35-702
• 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
• Household member: means an individual who resides at the same residence as the voter. See Montana Code 13-35-702
• 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 resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: includes an affirmation or declaration. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• 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

• 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
• 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
• Registrar: means the county election administrator and any regularly appointed deputy or assistant election administrator. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• School election: has the meaning provided in 20-1-101. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Sex: means the organization of the body parts and gametes for reproduction in human beings and other organisms. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• 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
• 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
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• Willfully: when applied to the intent with which an act is done or omitted, means a purpose or willingness to commit the act or make the omission referred to. See Montana Code 1-1-204