Hear from those who are defending our right to vote in Montana. Brought to you by the League of Women Voters and the Lewis & Clark Library. 

Register in advance for this webinar: https://bit.ly/3CI3Hm9  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
 
Four speakers with extensive and varied expertise on voting rights will address current Montana threats:
Jeremy Johnson, chair of Political Science and International Relations at Carroll College, specializing in American politics, is director of Carroll’s Constitutional Studies Program. A frequent commentator on Montana politics, he earned his master’s and Ph.D. from Brown University and his B.A from the University of Pennsylvania.
Mike Meloy, a Helena-based trial practice attorney focusing on Constitutional issues, operates the Freedom of Information Hotline and was active in drafting and enacting the implementing legislation for the “Right-to-Know” provision of the Montana Constitution. He is also a former Montana legislator who also taught Constitutional Law at Carroll College.
Alex Rate is the Legal Director at ACLU of Montana and has been involved in numerous legal challenges to laws restricting voting rights in Montana.
Keaton Sunchild is the Political Director for Western Native Voice and has been active to ensure Native Americans have a voice in politics. He will address “the history of the Native vote and the voting rights barriers that we faced and continue to face even now.”

The speakers will specifically address current legal challenges to laws passed by the 2021 Montana Legislature that end same day voter registration, prevent ballot collecting, restrict political campaign activities on campuses, and change voter ID laws. “These bills are all designed to restrict the right to vote,” says Rate of why the public needs to know about them.  "They are “all part of the … myth that there has been voter fraud,” says Meloy, who adds, “There are very few instances of voter fraud” and therefore no legal justification for restricting the right to vote. “They are voter suppression bills. The impact falls on those less able to deal with restricting their voting rights.”