---
type: "Bill"
title: "Prohibit use of ranked-choice voting methods"
description: "Prohibit use of ranked-choice voting methods"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "HB 598"
citation: "Montana HB 598 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Elections (see also: Ballot Issues)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Lyn Hellegaard"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 47
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2022-12-27T14:04:47+00:00"
last_action: "2023-04-27T18:07:52+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/e8a2e72a-f090-4760-981d-cda1dc91a20c"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/bill/20231/LC4320"
source_hash: "a57a403981e33354526907436d39a5f09756ab30f54534a71a24e6cf5477410f"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-mt"]
---

# Montana HB 598 (2023) — Prohibit use of ranked-choice voting methods

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **HB0598.001.001_Amendments-in-Context_final-condensed.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=9212)
2. **HB0598.001.001_Amendments-in-Context_final-full.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=9211)
3. **HB0598_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=9213)
4. **HB0598_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=9214)
5. **HB0598_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=9215)

## Votes

- (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred — **6–5** (pass) · upper
- (S) 3rd Reading Concurred — **27–23** (pass) · upper
- (H) 3rd Reading Passed — **56–43** (pass) · lower
- (H) 2nd Reading Passed — **54–46** (pass) · lower
- (S) 2nd Reading Concurred — **29–21** (pass) · upper
- (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed as Amended — **10–8** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Lyn Hellegaard — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-04-27T18:07:52+00:00** Chapter Number Assigned `became-law`
- **2023-04-26T15:16:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2023-04-21T16:40:00+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2023-04-20T17:01:00+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2023-04-19T15:16:00+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-13T23:00:59+00:00** (C) Printed - Enrolled Version Available `enrolled`
- **2023-04-13T23:00:38+00:00** (H) Returned from Enrolling
- **2023-04-06T22:51:11+00:00** (H) Sent to Enrolling
- **2023-04-06T21:16:44+00:00** (S) Returned to House
- **2023-04-05T20:08:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-04-05T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-04-04T20:10:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-04-04T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-03-29T19:16:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Concurred
- **2023-03-28T14:00:00+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred
- **2023-03-23T14:00:00+00:00** (S) Hearing
- **2023-03-14T15:13:28+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-10T00:14:15+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-03-03T17:20:05+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Senate
- **2023-03-03T04:23:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-02T20:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2023-03-01T22:06:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2023-03-01T20:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-02-27T23:39:54+00:00** (C) Printed - New Version Available
- **2023-02-27T23:07:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-27T20:00:00+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed as Amended `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-27T14:00:57+00:00** (H) Hearing
- **2023-02-24T20:17:57+00:00** (C) Amendments Available
- **2023-02-21T21:54:18+00:00** (H) Sponsor List Modified
- **2023-02-21T20:45:59+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-02-20T17:37:51+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-16T16:29:34+00:00** (C) Introduced Bill Text Available Electronically
- **2023-02-16T15:10:24+00:00** (H) Introduced
- **2023-02-15T14:46:43+00:00** (C) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2023-02-14T19:26:05+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-02-14T14:57:28+00:00** (C) Executive Director Final Review
- **2023-02-14T14:57:24+00:00** (C) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2023-02-14T00:25:19+00:00** (C) Draft in Assembly
- **2023-02-13T20:54:08+00:00** (C) Executive Director Review
- **2023-02-13T19:59:33+00:00** (C) Bill Draft Text Available Electronically
- **2023-02-13T19:59:32+00:00** (C) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2023-02-12T19:55:53+00:00** (C) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2023-02-12T19:33:37+00:00** (C) Draft to Drafter - Edit Review
- **2023-02-10T18:11:17+00:00** (C) Draft in Edit
- **2023-02-07T22:37:17+00:00** (C) Draft in Legal Review
- **2023-02-06T18:49:27+00:00** (C) Draft to Requester for Review
- **2022-12-27T14:04:47+00:00** (C) Draft Request Received `receipt`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/e8a2e72a-f090-4760-981d-cda1dc91a20c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).