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Judge Rules Against 406 People First in Data Center Ballot Initiative Lawsuit
Judge Frank Joseph said petitioners and county officials missed statutory deadlines, blocking a public vote on data centers and leaving the group prepared to appeal.
- On Aug 28, a Butte-Silver Bow County district judge ruled against 406 People First, rejecting its lawsuit seeking to place a data center ballot initiative before voters in the southwest Montana county.
- Montana law MCA 13-28-206 sets signature deadlines one month ahead of state general deadlines, yet county election administrator Cynthia Sherman provided an incorrect date to petitioners, causing them to miss the statutory cutoff.
- District Judge Frank Joseph ruled that the legal doctrine of 'equitable estoppel' does not apply, noting that both parties failed to review the statute and calculate the correct deadline.
- People First president Denise Kelly expressed disappointment with the ruling, stating the group remains "prepared to appeal" the decision to preserve their rights to pursue the data center ballot initiative.
- Attorney John Meyer argued that the law's purpose—providing time to verify signatures—was satisfied, suggesting it makes "no sense" to enforce a hard deadline when the underlying requirement was met.
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Court rejects Butte data center ballot initiative
A district court judge has rejected a Butte organizer’s request to put a data center initiative on the November ballot after confusion about the signature-gathering deadline tanked the initiative. John Meyer, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said they have appealed the decision. The post Court rejects Butte data center ballot initiative appeared first on Montana Free Press.
The Billings Gazette+3 Reposted by 3 other sources
Butte judge rules data center ballot question missed deadlines, won't appear on ballot
District Judge Frank Joseph ruled that statutory deadlines will prevent a data center question from appearing on the November ballot.
·Billings, United States
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