Justices remove Green Party candidates from Montana ballot

HELENA, Mont. — A Republican-backed effort to qualify Montana Green Party candidates for the general election has been rejected by the Montana Supreme Court.

Justices on Wednesday upheld District Judge James Reynolds’ Aug. 7 ruling that granted the requests of about 560 people to remove their names from the petitions after they learned the Montana Green Party did not support the effort.

It was later learned the Montana Republican Party had bankrolled the $100,000 signature-gathering effort and violated campaign finance laws by not properly reporting the expenditure.

Green Party candidates are believed to draw votes away from Democratic candidates. The court said it would issue its full opinion later.

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