Montana Democratic Party Sues to Keep Green Party Off U.S. Senate Ballot
Restraining order issued Thursday night, after Secretary of State says ballot was certified
By Blair Miller for the Daily Montanan
The Montana Democratic Party is trying to keep the Green Party’s U.S. Senate candidate off the November ballot, saying in a lawsuit filed last week the party did not follow the proper procedure for replacing its candidate when the primary winner dropped out of the race just ahead of a deadline earlier this month.
The Democrats filed the lawsuit Thursday afternoon, August 22, seeking to block Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen from certifying the November ballot that would include Green Party Senate candidate Robert Barb, whom the party agreed should be its candidate after primary winner Michael Downey dropped out of the race earlier this month.
Since then, Jacobsen certified the ballot with Barb on it; the case has been passed among three judges in Lewis and Clark County District Court; and one of those judges, who was substituted off the case by the Attorney General’s Office on Friday, issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the certification of the Green Party U.S. Senate candidate – though that order was issued Thursday evening apparently after Jacobsen had certified that ballot, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
The lawsuit over the late changes to the Green Party’s candidate is the latest development in the U.S. Senate contest in Montana, as Democratic incumbent Senator Jon Tester tries to win a fourth term in a tight race against Republican candidate Tim Sheehy and as both major parties seek to gain any votes they can in the November election.
At his August 9 rally in Bozeman, former President Donald Trump talked about Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Sid Daoud, asking him to stand up for recognition, calling him a “nice guy,” and saying, “I think he’s going to be giving you a very nice surprise very soon.”
The next week, the Montana State News Bureau reported that Trump and other top Montana Republicans had pressured him to drop out of the race ahead of the August 12 deadline for candidates to do so. Daoud declined to do so.
Replacing the Green Party Candidate
Downey, who beat Barb 66% to 34% in the Green Party primary in June in which 913 ballots were cast, dropped out of the U.S. Senate race on August 12, just before the deadline, according to multiple court filings.
Under state election law, the Green Party had until August 21 to appoint a new candidate for November’s ballot in accordance with the party’s rules and ahead of Jacobsen’s August 22 deadline to certify the ballot’s candidates and issues for November.
On August 16, Barb’s attorney sued the state, Jacobsen, the Montana Green Party and its ballot access coordinator Steve Kelly, asking a court to force the Green Party to name Barb as the replacement candidate and to block Jacobsen from certifying the ballot until that was done.
The suit argued that Barb would be harmed as the primary runner-up if he was not named as the replacement candidate and because he would have no Green Party candidate for whom to vote in November’s Senate race.
Barb, of Darby, signed sworn declarations before the court on August 16 and 19 saying he has an “unwavering commitment” to Green Party issues like opposing U.S. arms sales in foreign wars, recognizing climate change as a threat, and the party’s platform on ecological stability and equal pay for women, among others.
“As the runner-up, I believe the Montana Green Party has a duty to name me as its candidate before the statutory deadline,” Barb wrote in his sworn declaration. “Should it refuse, I will have been cheated out of a fair opportunity to run for office in the state of Montana.”
But the day after he made the declaration, on August 20, Barb’s attorney, Helena-based Rob Cameron, filed a voluntary dismissal of Barb’s case after it appeared that he’d be appointed by the Green Party to replace Downey on the ballot.
The Democratic Party’s Lawsuit
The Democratic Party’s lawsuit, filed two days later, argues that having a Green Party candidate on the ballot to compete with Tester would cause them to foot the bill for unnecessary expenses and burdens, and that appointing Barb as the replacement was not done in line with Green Party rules.
According to the suit, the Democrats will have to develop new strategies to show voters the difference between the Democratic candidate and talk about prior instances in which the Green Party was influenced by the major parties when putting candidates on the ballot.
In 2020, the Montana Supreme Court found a petition to get Green Party candidates onto the ballot that year was submitted illegally because it had been sponsored and organized by the Montana Republican Party.
The Democratic Party’s lawsuit argues that the Green Party’s rules, which must be used under state law when a party appoints a new candidate for the General Election once the original candidate withdraws, say that party membership shall make decisions by vote of a simple majority of its membership, and that the party never met to vote on Barb as Downey’s replacement.
The lawsuit speculates that the Green Party officers in Montana appointed Barb as the replacement candidate on August 20 without putting a vote to its members.
“The purported appointment of Barb by officers who not only lacked the power to make such an appointment but were specifically prohibited from doing so under the Green Party’s rules is not ‘appointment as provided by rules of the party,’” the lawsuit argues.
“The time during which the Green Party may lawfully designate a replacement candidate has now expired,” it goes on to say. “Because no replacement candidate was chosen through the required method, the Green Party cannot have a Senate candidate appear on the general election ballot.”
The suit asked the judge overseeing the case to find that Barb’s nomination was not done in accordance with the law and to enjoin the Secretary of State’s Office from certifying Barb or any other Green Party candidate from the ballot in the U.S. Senate race.
Certification and Restraining Order Timeline
Thursday evening, in an order signed at 7:57 p.m., after Judge Mike Menahan recused himself from the case, Judge Kathy Seeley granted the temporary restraining order, saying the Democratic Party was likely to succeed on the merits of the argument because the Green Party “did not appoint its nominee for U.S. Senate in accordance with its Party Bylaws.”
The order enjoined the Secretary of State’s Office from certifying any Green Party candidate for the 2024 U.S. Senate race and ordered the parties to appear at a hearing for a preliminary injunction on August 30 in Helena.
But the next day, in multiple emails, Secretary of State’s Office spokesperson Richie Melby said that Barb’s name had been certified for the ballot and the certification had been made prior to Seeley’s order.
“Ballot certification was completed right after 7 p.m. (I believe it was 7:06 p.m.), meaning any order came after the 2024 General Election ballot certification,” Melby said in an email.
Barb’s attorney, Rob Cameron, said in an interview on Friday that he believed since the certification was completed prior to Seeley’s order, the order would not bind Jacobsen’s certification.
“So, the order came out saying, “Don’t certify anybody,’ but that had already occurred one or more hours previously, so that’s why things are kind of in limbo,” Cameron said.
He also said Barb’s sworn attestation that he supported key parts of the Green Party’s platform should negate prior comments he’s made denying climate change and override his political donations to Republican committees.
“Robert, all along, presumed that he would be the replacement candidate, and once the Green Party was convinced, satisfied that Robert is indeed a legitimate Green Party person, they went ahead and completed that certificate of appointment,” Cameron said.
In a statement Friday, Montana Democratic Party Chairperson Robyn Driscoll said she believed the Green Party was “meddling” in the race and “installing Republicans to run as Green Party candidates.”
“Robert Barb is without a doubt a Republican, having donated to Republicans, promoted social media posts that call climate change a ‘B.S. fake narrative,’ and amplified right-wing conspiracy theories,” Driscoll said. “Robert Barb’s placement on the ballot was done in violation of Montana law, and no Green Party candidate should appear on the ballot as a U.S. Senate candidate.”
In an interview on Friday, Kelly, the Green Party’s ballot access coordinator, accused the Democratic Party of meddling in its own decisions.
“I mean, I don’t really know what they think, because … the job we do is to sign a piece of paper. It’s a form. It’s not a big thing. Just says, you know, you appoint a replacement,” Kelly said. “I don’t know what there is beyond that. I mean, I’m not a lawyer. You let the Secretary of State and the Democratic lawyers haggle this out.”
He said he and Barb had signed the appointment document for the Secretary of State’s Office and that he had taken Barb’s attestation that he was aligned with the party since it was signed under the penalty of perjury.
“He demonstrated to me all the necessary alignment with the Green Party’s position on many issues,” Kelly said. “There’s no perfect candidate, obviously. But I don’t need to get into the where we do and don’t disagree. You know, it’s like Bernie (Sanders) or Hillary Clinton, OK? Within the Democratic Party, they don’t agree.”
He also suggested the Democratic Party had filed the suit because it did not want extra competition in the Tester-Sheehy race in which Daoud will also be on the ballot.
“I just think it’s an attitude that’s self-defeating for them,” Kelly said. “And I’m not suggesting I care what they do with their business; that’s their business. But I’m trying to figure out what’s in it for them to sue us, right? It looks bad.”
After Seeley’s order was handed down Thursday evening, the Attorney General’s Office substituted her off the case, and it went to Judge Michael McMahon. No other filings had been made in the case as of early Monday afternoon.
Melby said in an email Monday evening the Secretary of State’s Office must abide by a statutory deadline to certify the ballot so military and overseas voters get their ballot on time. He said he would have to check with the legal department about whether the office had any new information about if it still believes the ballot certification superseded the temporary restraining order or if there had been any new filings on its behalf.
The Montana Democratic Party’s attorney in the case did not return a message Monday seeking clarification on how the timing of the certification and of the temporary restraining order worked in conjunction with one another. A spokesperson for the party pointed the Daily Montanan to the temporary restraining order to note it was granted.
The Lewis and Clark County District Court docket, and a court clerk, both said there remains a hearing on a preliminary injunction in the case set for 9 a.m. on Friday, August 30, in front of Judge McMahon.
The Green Party is a scam. And Jill Stein is, of course, a Putin patsy.