Montana court puts Butte data center measure on ballot

What the order does

The Montana Supreme Court granted an injunction allowing a ballot initiative backed by 406 People First to move forward in Butte-Silver Bow. The order applies while the court considers an appeal of a district court decision that kept the proposal off the ballot.

The injunction prevents the county clerk and recorder from refusing to certify the initiative because its supporters allegedly missed a statutory deadline. As a result, the question will appear on November general-election ballots while the broader legal dispute remains unresolved.

The five-justice panel issued the order unanimously. The court weighed the consequences of allowing the vote against the consequences of withholding the question while the appeal proceeds.

What voters will decide

The initiative would require approval from two-thirds of registered Butte-Silver Bow voters before any new data center could be approved in the county. That threshold is based on all registered voters, not only those who cast ballots on the question.

A district judge ruled in August that supporters filed their signatures too late. A 2025 law had moved the applicable deadline forward by about one month.

The Supreme Court’s injunction addresses whether the measure can appear on the ballot during the appeal, not whether it was legally eligible for placement. If voters approve the initiative and the court later rules that it should not have appeared, the result could be invalidated. The pending appeal will determine whether the district court’s deadline ruling remains in effect.