INSTRUCTIONS FOR SIGNATURE GATHERERS
1. To qualify an initiative or referendum for the ballot, signatures
of 5 percent of the total number of qualified voters in the state
(based on the number of votes cast for the office of governor in the
last general election), including 5 percent of the voters in each of
34 legislative house districts must be obtained (a total of 24,175
signatures for the 2016 ballot).
2. A person gathering signatures must be a resident, as provided in
1-1-215, MCA, of the state of Montana, and may not be paid anything
of value based on the number of signatures gathered.
3. Only registered voters may sign ballot issue petitions, and they
must sign their name substantially the same way as they did on their
voter registration card. Do not allow people to sign the back of the
petition, as the back of the petition does not have signature lines
nor required information. Be sure to check the dates that signers
enter on the petition. This can help ensure that signers complete
the date field and write the correct dates, and to ensure that it
does not incorrectly appear that the signature gatherer signed the
affidavit before gathering signatures.
4. No one may knowingly sign a petition for the same ballot measure
more than once or sign another person's name to a petition. Anyone
who does so may be fined or sentenced to jail time.
5. Each sheet or section of up to 25 sheets of a petition must
include an Affidavit of Signature Gatherer from the signature
gatherer who was present at the time each elector signed the
petition. The affidavit must be signed in front of a public notary,
and the same notary must sign and date the affidavit as well. Do not
sign the affidavit until after the last signature that will be
attached to that affidavit has been gathered.
6. Once the signed and notarized affidavit has been attached to the
section of petitions, turn them in to the county election
administrator. On the bottom of the petition sheets, you must number
each petition chronologically as well as list the name of the county
where the signatures were gathered. Make sure all signers reside in
the same county! The petitions must be turned in to that county’s
election administrator. *NOTE* YOU MAY HAVE NO MORE THAN 25 SHEETS
PER AFFIDAVIT IN A SECTION. IF YOU GATHER MORE THAN 25 SHEETS, A
SEPARATE AFFIDAVIT IS REQUIRED.