Montana Code Annotated 2001

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     13-35-218. Coercion or undue influence of voters. (1) No person, directly or indirectly, by himself or any other person in his behalf, in order to induce or compel a person to vote or refrain from voting for any candidate, the ticket of any political party, or any ballot issue before the people, may:
     (a) use or threaten to use any force, coercion, violence, restraint, or undue influence against any person; or
     (b) inflict or threaten to inflict, by himself or any other person, any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm, or loss upon or against any person.
     (2) No person who is a minister, preacher, priest, or other church officer or who is an officer of any corporation or organization, religious or otherwise, may, other than by public speech or print, urge, persuade, or command any voter to vote or refrain from voting for or against any candidate, political party ticket, or ballot issue submitted to the people because of his religious duty or the interest of any corporation, church, or other organization.
     (3) No person may, by abduction, duress, or any fraudulent contrivance, impede or prevent the free exercise of the franchise by any voter at any election or thereby compel, induce, or prevail upon any elector to give or to refrain from giving his vote at any election.
     (4) No person may, in any manner, interfere with a voter lawfully exercising his right to vote at an election so as to prevent the election from being fairly held and lawfully conducted.
     (5) No person on election day may obstruct the doors or entries of any polling place or engage in any solicitation of a voter within the room where votes are being cast or elsewhere in any manner which in any way interferes with the election process or obstructs the access of voters to or from the polling place.

     History: En. 23-47-126 by Sec. 26, Ch. 334, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 23-47-126; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 561, L. 1981.

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