Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-553

Opinion No. 553 Elcctions--Ballots--PI'ccinct Com- mittemeIL HELD: The candidates for precinct committeemen should he selulrated on the ballot into two groups, namely, "men" and "women." since under Chap- ter 6, Laws of In3.':!. each political party must elect two precinct com- mitteemen one of whom shaH he a man and one whom shall be a woman. June 13, 1934. You direet my attention to Chapter 6 of the Laws of the Twenty-third Legislative Assembly, 1!)33, nmending Section 662, R. C. ~I.. 1!)21. which pro\'ides that in the primary election each political party shall elect in each precinct two committeemen, one of whom shaH he a woman. As this amendment materiuHy chang· es the former law, it will require cer- tain modifications of the primary bal- lot. You are now electing two persons where formerlr one was elected. One of the persons elected must be a man aJ1(1 the other must be a woman. This requirement pre\'ents the election of two persons from one group on the bal- lot and it makes necessary the separa- tion of the men candidates from the women candidates. They are both designated in the law ns "committee" men." The clearest method of designating seems to be, after designating the of- fice "Precinct Committeemen," that in brackets thereafter should be contained in one group the word "men" and with the other group the word "women." This modification of the ballots from the system pre\'iollsly used would av- pear lHlequate to carry out the provi- sions of the law, and to be requirect under the same.