Partisan election of supreme court candidates

This bill would change how Montana Supreme Court justices and the Chief Justice are elected by requiring them to run on partisan ballots where candidates declare affiliation with a political party or list themselves as "undisclosed." The legislation allows candidates to accept political party endorsements and contributions, and it permits only one undisclosed candidate to advance to the general election. Additionally, incumbent justices seeking re-election would appear on the ballot with their political party designation and a yes-or-no retention question, without a write-in option. These changes affect judicial elections by introducing party labels and campaign financing rules to the previously nonpartisan selection process for the state's highest court.