A Montana judge has blocked a residency rule for people who move for work, training or education, leaving unresolved whether college students must plan to stay after their programs to vote there.
Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 413 on May 1, 2025, and it took effect that day. It says people who move for temporary work, training or an educational program must intend to make the county or state their permanent home when the program ends to establish residency there. Montana also requires voters to be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old and residents of the state and county where they vote for at least 30 days. The state defines residence by a person’s fixed home and intent to return when away.
The Montana Public Interest Research Group challenged the law. On Feb. 13, Missoula County District Judge Jason Marks granted the group a preliminary injunction, finding it had shown a likelihood of success. Marks also found the rule could prevent some otherwise-qualified students from voting. He wrote that HB 413 “impermissibly interferes with students’ right to vote in Montana.” The injunction blocks the requirement for now; it does not decide whether the law is constitutional. The state argued the law does not apply to university students, while Marks read it as covering them at this stage of the case.
The dispute concerns how students establish voting residence. Depending on state rules and individual circumstances, a student may be able to register at a former home or where they attend college; enrollment alone does not settle the question. In a 1979 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed an order barring a Texas county registrar from using a questionnaire to screen voter-registration applicants, including students at Prairie View A&M University. That decision addressed the screening practice and did not give every student an automatic right to vote where they attend school.
After an Oct. 15 hearing on the group’s request for summary judgment, Democracy Docket reported that Marks would accept additional submissions for two weeks before issuing a ruling. NPR reported Oct. 28 that no final decision had been issued. Attorney Yael Bromberg, co-editor of Youth Voting Rights, told NPR that a student’s domicile depends on individual circumstances.
