County Republican committees, lawmakers and candidates file brief in lawsuit against state GOP

In the lawsuit, filed in early July, two county central committees and several individuals, including sitting lawmakers and a former Montana GOP party chairman, argue the bylaws adopted by the party at its convention in June take power from voters by letting the party leaders remove members at will.

Lewis and Clark District Court Judge Michael McMahon issued a temporary restraining order against the bylaws while the suit played out in court, later narrowing it to just a few  sections of the bylaws.

The sections at the heart of the lawsuit include those defining the characteristics of Republican membership, term limits for precinct officers and central committee officers, and the suspension or removal of members.

State GOP chairman Art Wittich has defended the new party bylaws, saying they passed with  97% of the delegates at the party convention voting in favor. 

“There is a difference between self-identifying as a Republican and voluntarily participating as a full member of our party, a political association with its own rules, responsibilities and authority,” Wittich previously said.

Montana Grass Roots Republicans includes the Glacier, Pondera and Teton County Republican Central Committees, as well as 11 sitting state representatives, six state senators, 12 Republican nominees for the legislature, and 38 elected or appointed precinct committee representatives. 

Republicans in 13 counties across Montana are represented, including more than 20 from Ravalli County, which has been a pressure point for Republican infighting in recent years. 

The group is not seeking to join as a party to the lawsuit, but “provide the Court with a perspective grounded in the offices and organizations directly affected by the challenged provisions.”

Among the arguments the grassroots organization supports, is that the state GOP cannot remove voter-elected precinct representatives from office nor terminate party membership or participation of precinct representatives or duly-elected Republican nominees. 

The new bylaws, the brief states, allow the state party to exercise tight control over its members, including limiting party support or endorsement for members who aren’t in “good standing,” or removing them from office altogether. 

“The Montana Republican Party transforms private membership discipline into a power over positions and nominations created and filled through Montana’s election laws,” according to the brief.

In its post-hearing brief to the court, the state GOP said the overwhelming support of the new bylaws during the vote shows the rules are not a “power grab by a few,” and instead establishes due process for internal disciplinary actions. 

The party also argues that the plaintiffs cannot show that any individual, nor county committee, has suffered harm due to the new bylaws, and that it’s a First Amendment right for the party to decide whom to associate with.  

If the court granted an injunction against the bylaws, it “would force the Party to lend its name and its treasury to speech and candidacies it has chosen not to support,” according to court documents. 

The court has not indicated when it will issue a ruling on the requested injunction.