Montana Title 13. Elections § 13-12-205. Arrangement of names--rotation on ballot

(2)(a) If two or more individuals are candidates for nomination or election to the same office, the election administrator shall divide the ballot forms into sets equal in number to the greatest number of candidates for any office. The candidates for nomination to an office by each political party must be considered separately in determining the number of sets necessary for a primary election.

(b) The election administrator shall begin with a form arranged alphabetically and rotate the names of the candidates so that each candidate's name will be at the top of the list for each office on substantially an equal number of ballots. If it is not numerically possible to place each candidate's name at the top of the list, the names must be rotated in groups so that each candidate's name is as near the top of the list as possible on substantially an equal number of ballots.

(c) If the county contains more than one legislative district, the election administrator may rotate each candidate's name so that it will be at or near the top of the list for each office on substantially an equal number of ballots in each house district.

(d) For purposes of rotation, the offices of president and vice president and of governor and lieutenant governor must be considered as a group.

(e) No more than one of the sets may be used in preparing the ballot for use in any one precinct, and all ballots furnished for use in any precinct must be identical.