Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-545

Opinion No. 545 El~tions-Primary Elections-Nomi- nations-Conventions-Candi- dates-Counties. HELD: Where a political party did not receive 3% of the vote cast in the congressional district, it may nominate a candidate for congress at a primary convention. 378 OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL In a county where a political party did not recei,'e 3% of the votes cast for eongressman, its candidates for county offices may be nominated by primary com'ention, but where it did receive such 3% vote its candidates must be nomina ted by primary election. May 24, 1934. You state that the candidate for Con- gress of the Communist Party received more than three per cent of the votes cast in your county for that position at the last general election. You in- quire whether or not candidates for eounty offices on the Communist Party must be nominated by primary election or by the filing of petitions. I am ad- vised by the Secretary of State of the State of Montana that. a candidate for Member of Congress from your district on the Communist ticket at the last election did not receive three per cent of the total vote cast for such office in the entire Congressional District. The statute, a part of the primary elec- tion law, reads as follows: "Every po- litical party which has cast three per eentum (3%) or more of the total vote cast for representative in congress at the next preceding general election in the county, district or state for which nominations are proposed to be made. shall nominate its candidates for pull- lie office in such county, district or state, under the pro"isions of this law, and not in any other manner; and it shall not be allowed to nominate any candidate in the manner provided by section 612 of this code." (Section 639, R. C. 1\:1., 1921, as amended by section 1, Chapter 7, Laws of 1927.) Section 612, R. C. M .. 1921, provides for nomination of candidates .by con- vention. Therefore, it would appear that the eandidates for Congress of the Communist Party may be nomi- na ted at a primary meeting as pro- vided by R. C. 612. In the matter of county officers the situation is entirely different. In coun- ties where the Communist Party did not receive three per cent of the votes cast for Congressman, its candidates for county officers may be nominated at a convention. In vour county, where more than three 'per cent of the votes cast for Member of Congress at the last general election were cast for the candidate of the Communist Party, the law re- quires that candidates fOl' county of- fices shall be nominated by primary election, as other nominations, and can- not he nominated at a convention.