Montana Attorney General Opinion 16-340

Opinion No. 340. Elections-Initiative and Referendum -Constitutional Amendments -Ballots. HELD: Initiative or referendum measures and constitutional amend- ments should be printed upon the of- ficial ballot unless the Act of the legislature submitting the constitu- tional amendment provides therein that separate ballots shall be pro- vided. August 11, 1936. Mr. H. E. Herrick Deputy County Attorney Miles City, Montana You have asked my opinion as to whether initiative or referendum measures and constitutional amend- ments and proposed constitutional amendments should be printed upon the official ballot or upon a separate ballot. It seems to be the plain mandate of Section 103, R. C. M. 1935, that they should be printed upon the official ballot. Where, however, the act of the legislature submitting the consti- tutional amendment to the electors provides therein that separate ballots shall be provided, as does Chapter 172, Laws of 1935, relating to the hours of labor, it is my opinion that separate ballots should be used. In such case the special law would pre- vail over the general law to the ex- tent of the conflict between the two.