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SB 220MONTANASession 2025State Billdead
Did Not Advance

Montana bill requires permanent reservation satellite election offices and authorizes nontraditional voter addresses

Original title: Generally revise election laws and procedures

Last action · May 23, 2025: (S) Died in ProcessSponsor: Jonathan Windy Boy

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Proposed

Senate Bill 220 requires counties containing Indian reservations to establish at least one permanent satellite election office in consultation with tribal governments, effective January 1, 2026. The measure allows electors to use nontraditional narrative descriptions and tribally designated buildings as residential addresses for voter registration and voting. Additionally, the legislation updates polling place notice requirements, mandates tribal involvement in choosing precinct locations, and sets rules for ballot deposit places.

Why it matters

Residents living on Indian reservations gain guaranteed local access to replacement ballots, in-person absentee voting, late registration, and ballot drop-off sites without needing to travel long distances to county seats.

Background
  • Jonathan Windy Boy is a Democratic member of the Montana Senate representing District 16, encompassing parts of northern Montana. context
  • Montana law governs voter registration, polling place designations, absentee voting, and provisional ballot verification under Title 13 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA). context

Who It Would Have Affected

Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Electors living within Indian reservations

Voters gain local access to permanent satellite election offices, ballot drop boxes, and the right to use nontraditional or tribally designated addresses.

Directly affected

County election administrators

Administrators must establish and operate reservation satellite offices, publish reservation polling locations, and coordinate with tribal governments.

Directly affected

Federally recognized Indian tribes in Montana

Tribal governments gain authority to select satellite office and deposit place locations, designate tribal buildings as addresses, and consult on election operations.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What services must a reservation satellite election office provide?
Satellite offices must provide services equivalent to the county's main election office, including access to replacement ballots, in-person absentee voting, and late voter registration.
Can tribal photo IDs be used for voting without an expiration date?
Yes. A tribal photo identification card does not need to include a residential address or an expiration date to be considered valid.
How are ballot deposit places determined for towns far from satellite offices?
An Indian reservation must have at least one for each town that is more than 13 miles away from a permanent satellite election office, with the location chosen by the tribal government.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Died in committee.

Procedural history

21 actions
  1. May 23, 2025Senate
    (S) Died in Process
  2. Mar 12, 2025Senate
    (S) Missed Deadline for General Bill Transmittal
  3. Feb 28, 2025SenateCommittee
    (S) Tabled in Committee
  4. Feb 10, 2025Senate
    (S) Fiscal Note Printed
  5. Feb 10, 2025Senate
    (S) Fiscal Note Unsigned
  6. Feb 7, 2025Senate
    (S) Fiscal Note Received
Show 15 earlier actions
  1. Feb 4, 2025Senate
    (S) Hearing
  2. Feb 4, 2025Senate
    (S) Hearing Canceled
  3. Feb 3, 2025Senate
    (S) Hearing
  4. Jan 28, 2025Senate
    (S) Fiscal Note Requested
  5. Jan 28, 2025SenateCommittee
    (S) Referred to Committee
  6. Jan 28, 2025Senate
    (S) 1st Reading
  7. Jan 27, 2025SenateIntroduced
    (S) Introduced
  8. Jan 27, 2025House
    (LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
  9. Jan 24, 2025House
    (LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
  10. Jan 22, 2025House
    (LC) Draft in Assembly
  11. Jan 22, 2025House
    (LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
  12. Jan 21, 2025House
    (LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
  13. Jan 20, 2025House
    (LC) Draft in Edit
  14. Jan 20, 2025House
    (LC) Draft in Legal Review
  15. Nov 14, 2024House
    (LC) Drafter Assigned

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Sponsors

Jonathan Windy BoySenate · District 16DemocraticPrimary sponsor

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Mandatory Tribal Consultation for Election Infrastructure

The bill shifts authority by legally requiring county governments to establish satellite offices in consultation with tribal governments and respect tribal selections for deposit places.

Jonathan Windy Boy

Connected Entities

S. Fyant, Jonathan Windy Boy, S. Webber and 14 more
PersonS. Fyant“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
PersonJonathan Windy Boy“Democratic senator representing District 16 and primary sponsor of SB 220”Map →
PersonS. Webber“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
PersonA. Olsen“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
PersonC. Pope“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
PersonD. Harvey“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
PersonD. Fern“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
PersonD. Hayman“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
PersonC. Fitzpatrick“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
PersonC. Neumann“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
PersonD. Hawk“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
PersonJ. Morigeau“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
PersonM. Dunwell“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
locationState of Montana“State enacting the legislation”Map →
PersonJ. Sooktis“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
PersonS. Novak“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →
PersonG. Lammers“Legislative co-introducer listed on SB 220”Map →

Sources

Open source document

bills.legmt.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance20
    Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
  • Controversy60
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz40
    Current news / social attention level

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