---
type: "Bill"
title: "Revise election laws related to inactive voter status"
description: "Revise election laws related to inactive voter status"
jurisdiction: "us/states/mt"
legislature: "Montana Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 179"
citation: "Montana HB 179 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Elections"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Braxton Mitchell"]
version_count: 21
action_count: 36
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2024-12-08T01:45:02+00:00"
last_action: "2025-04-18T19:21:24+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/22347b5c-92c5-4deb-8fed-342bb3c88eed"
source_url: "https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC2326?open_tab=sum"
source_hash: "1a29df0cee31c801698b712f9fd4d284c08f08736fab157ec9568e2b03768dab"
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 179 (2025) — Revise election laws related to inactive voter status

## Version chain

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

1. **HB0179_1(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=271179)
2. **HB0179_1(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=271183)
3. **HB0179_1(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=271184)
4. **HB0179_1(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=271185)
5. **HB0179_1(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=275216)
6. **HB0179_1(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=276277)
7. **HB0179_1(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=279372)
8. **HB0179_1(8).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=295668)
9. **HB0179_1(9).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=300145)
10. **HB0179_1.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=270820)
11. **HB0179_2.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=300144)
12. **HB0179_X(1).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=316566)
13. **HB0179_X(2).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=320167)
14. **HB0179_X(3).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=321234)
15. **HB0179_X(4).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=321235)
16. **HB0179_X(5).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=321236)
17. **HB0179_X(6).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=324550)
18. **HB0179_X(7).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=326557)
19. **HB0179_X(8).pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=327688)
20. **HB0179_X.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=310607)
21. **LC2326.pdf** (committee substitute) — [source](https://api.legmt.gov/docs/v1/documents/getContent?documentId=269682)

## Votes

- be_concurred_in — **9–0** (pass) · upper
- do_pass — **11–8** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **58–42** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass — **58–42** (pass) · lower
- Do Concur — **50–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Braxton Mitchell — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-12-08T01:45:02+00:00** (LC) Drafter Assigned
- **2024-12-30T16:53:14+00:00** (LC) Draft in Legal Review
- **2024-12-31T19:14:26+00:00** (LC) Draft in Edit
- **2024-12-31T21:26:04+00:00** (LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
- **2025-01-01T22:00:03+00:00** (LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
- **2025-01-02T13:29:23+00:00** (LC) Draft in Assembly
- **2025-01-06T15:17:20+00:00** (LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
- **2025-01-09T17:29:04+00:00** (LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
- **2025-01-10T22:44:45+00:00** (H) Introduced
- **2025-01-13T17:01:37+00:00** (H) Referred to Committee - (H) State Administration `referral-committee`
- **2025-01-13T20:15:34+00:00** (H) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-01-15T23:51:47+00:00** (H) Hearing - (H) State Administration
- **2025-01-28T18:42:53+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (H) State Administration `committee-passage`
- **2025-01-28T18:46:47+00:00** (H) Committee Executive Action--Bill Passed - (H) State Administration `committee-passage`
- **2025-01-28T20:20:00+00:00** (H) Committee Report--Bill Passed - (H) State Administration `committee-passage`
- **2025-02-03T20:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-02-03T20:54:00+00:00** (H) 2nd Reading Passed `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-02-04T20:00:00+00:00** (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-02-04T21:19:00+00:00** (H) 3rd Reading Passed `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-02-04T23:10:00+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Senate
- **2025-02-05T20:28:08+00:00** (S) First Reading `reading-1`
- **2025-02-13T23:36:21+00:00** (S) Referred to Committee - (S) State Administration `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-23T00:45:16+00:00** (S) Hearing - (S) State Administration
- **2025-03-19T23:57:29+00:00** (S) Committee Executive Action--Bill Concurred - (S) State Administration
- **2025-03-20T21:44:00+00:00** (S) Committee Report--Bill Concurred - (S) State Administration
- **2025-03-26T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-03-26T19:52:00+00:00** (S) 2nd Reading Concurred `reading-2, reading-2`
- **2025-03-27T19:00:00+00:00** (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-03-27T21:06:00+00:00** (S) 3rd Reading Concurred `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-03-27T21:07:08+00:00** (H) Sent to Enrolling
- **2025-03-28T18:50:37+00:00** (H) Returned from Enrolling
- **2025-04-07T18:00:24+00:00** (H) Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2025-04-09T17:30:28+00:00** (S) Signed by President `passage`
- **2025-04-09T19:50:28+00:00** (H) Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-17T19:57:54+00:00** (H) Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2025-04-18T19:21:24+00:00** Chapter Number Assigned `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/22347b5c-92c5-4deb-8fed-342bb3c88eed`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Montana legislature records).