TOM LUTEY/蒙大拿自由新闻：周一，一名州法官裁定，自2025年起导致数千张蒙大拿州选票被作废的缺席投票规定违宪。
TOM LUTEY/Montana Free Press An absentee ballot requirement that has resulted in thousands of Montana votes being thrown out since 2025 was ruled unconstitutional Monday by a state judge.
争议焦点在于要求选民在缺席投票回执信封上注明出生年份这一规定。刘易斯与克拉克县地方法院法官迈克·梅纳汉在裁决中指出，自2025年州议会制定该规定以来，已有近6000名蒙大拿州选民因此丧失投票权。
At issue is the requirement that voters write their birth year on absentee ballot return envelopes. In his Monday ruling, Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan said the requirement had disenfranchised nearly 6,000 Montana voters since it was created by the 2025 Legislature.
这一裁决意味着，在2026年大选中，即便信封上未注明出生年份，选票也不会被拒收。本周一，选民首次可亲自前往投票站领取缺席投票券。选举管理部门将于10月9日星期五向缺席投票登记名单上的选民邮寄投票券。
The ruling means that 2026 general election ballot envelopes missing the birth year won’t be rejected. The first day voters could walk into a polling place and receive an absentee ballot was Monday. Elections administrators will mail absentee ballots to voters on the absentee list on Friday, Oct. 9.
立法者制定这一出生年份要求时称，该信息有助于防范选举舞弊。哥伦比亚福尔斯市共和党众议员布拉克斯顿·米切尔提出了该规定。然而梅纳汉裁定，即便有大量选民因未填写出生年份而导致选票被拒，州政府也未能证明该规定确实起到了防范舞弊的作用。
In making the birth year requirement law, legislators argued that the information would prevent voter fraud. Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls , proposed the requirement. Menahan ruled that the state failed to prove the requirement prevented fraud, even as voters’ ballots were being rejected for omitting their birth years.
提起此次诉讼的是代表残障人士与老年人的“蒙大拿州残障权利组织”与“大天空55岁以上协会”。蒙大拿州首席选举官员、州务卿克里斯蒂·雅各布森则在法庭上为该规定辩护。
The lawsuit was brought by Disability Rights Montana and Big Sky 55+, groups that represent people with disabilities and seniors. Montana Secretary of State Christie Jacobsen, the state’s top election official, defended the law on the state’s behalf in court.
“州政府并未解释如何或为何增加出生年份有助于提升公众信心，也未提供任何支持其立场的证据,” 米纳汉在命令中说道。“作为回应，残疾人权利组织认为，出生年份要求损害了公众对选举的信心，因为这导致数千张选票因出生年份缺失或错误而被弃置。”
“The state does not explain how or why the addition of a birth year promotes public confidence and does not offer any evidence in support of its position,” Menahan said in the order. “In response, Disability Rights argues the birth year requirement damages public confidence in elections because it has resulted in thousands of ballots being discarded due to missing or incorrect birth years.”
米纳汉引用了美国最高法院的观点写道，“合法选票的弃置侵蚀了公众对选举结果反映人民意愿的信心。”选举行政官员表示，出生年份要求首次导致选票被否决发生在2025年秋季的市 municipal选举期间。当时，梅萨拉县的副选举行政官员萨拉·贝尔告诉Montana Free Press，这一要求使被拒选票比之前的初选增加了十倍。
Quoting the U.S. Supreme Court, Menahan wrote that the “discarding of lawful (votes) erodes public confidence that the election results reflect the people’s will.”Election administrators said the birth year requirement first disqualified ballots during municipal elections in fall 2025. At the time, Sarah Bell, Missoula County’s deputy elections administrator, told Montana Free Press that the requirement produced a tenfold increase in rejected ballots compared with the primary, which was held before the new rule took effect.
一些县的选举办公室指派员工通过电话、电子邮件或书面方式联系那些邮寄的无缺席选票中缺少出生年份的选民。
Some county election offices assigned employees to call, email or write voters whose mailed absentee ballots were missing birth years.
在一些社区中，被拒选票的数量足够大，可能会改变选举结果。例如，在比林斯，2025年市长选举以200票之差决定胜负，而627张选票因缺少出生年份而未被计票。
In some communities, the number of rejected ballots was large enough to potentially change election outcomes. In Billings, for example, the 2025 mayoral race was decided by 200 votes, while 627 ballots were not counted because they lacked birth years.
本文最初由Montana Free Press发布，并通过与美联社的合作进行分发。
This story was originally published by Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.