Montana Supreme Court puts Butte’s data center initiative back on the ballot

General election voters in Butte-Silver Bow County may now consider a proposed ballot initiative that would require citizen approval of data center development, after the Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a lower court ruling that prevented the initiative from appearing on the November ballot.

In a Wednesday court filing responding to the decision, the county said it intends to comply, but is unsure of how to follow the ruling and remain in compliance with the Montana Election Code, since ballots have already been printed — and some have already been sent and returned — without the initiative.

The county asks the court for direction, and proposes options including modifying existing ballots or issuing supplemental ballots containing the initiative. The ruling is the latest development in a dispute over a law passed by the 2025 Legislature. The Butte initiative, organized by 406 People First and Denise Kelly, would require a special election in which two-thirds of all registered voters approve a data center project before the county can authorize its construction or expansion. Initiative organizers sued Butte-Silver Bow County in August after election officials notified them that the deadline they had originally been given to submit petition signatures was incorrect.

According to court documents, the county initially told organizers they had until Aug. 14 to submit 3,652 valid signatures. Election Administrator Cynthia Sherman informed organizers July 31 they had met the requirement. But on Aug. 10, the county notified organizers that Senate Bill 11, enacted in 2025, required that signatures be submitted by July 13. The law requires petition signatures to be submitted four weeks before the ballot certification deadline, which is 85 days before the election. The same law affected a similar initiative in Yellowstone County, where organizers had been told they could submit signatures until Aug. 12. Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito told MTFP in August that data center developer Quantica Infrastructure, whose Broadview data center recently began construction, brought the earlier statutory deadline to his attention on July 30. The county subsequently informed organizers that their signature deadline had already passed. In Butte, a district court judge rejected the organizers’ request for relief on Aug. 28, concluding that the statutory deadline applied despite the county’s incorrect instructions. Organizers appealed to the Montana Supreme Court.

In its Tuesday ruling, the Supreme Court temporarily prohibited the county from rejecting the initiative on the basis of the missed deadline. The order notes that Butte-Silver Bow County did not oppose the organizers’ request for the injunction. The justices concluded that excluding the initiative from the November ballot while the organizers’ appeal proceeds could irreparably harm voters’ constitutional rights. The court also acknowledged that the initiative might ultimately be invalidated, even if voters approve it, should the justices later determine it was improperly placed on the ballot.

Evan Barrett, a member of 406 People First who helped prepare the petition, acknowledged that possibility, but said allowing the election to proceed with the initiative on the ballot would preserve voters’ opportunity to consider the measure.

“If the merits of our case are not good enough and the court says, ‘this election doesn’t count,’ that’s possible,” Barrett said. “But it’s impossible to make the choice without the election.”

The injunction will remain in effect until the Supreme Court resolves the appeal.

In response to Butte-Silver Bow’s Wednesday filing, the Supreme Court gave initiative organizers until noon on Thursday to respond to the county’s proposed options. The court has said the justices will issue a ruling as expeditiously as possible.

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This story was originally published by Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.