Letters: Montana Senate bill to hinder voting a bad idea at a bad time

The right to vote is extremely important in the state of Montana. Most people in the state are actively engaged in local politics, and it’s necessary to ensure that everybody has the right to vote.

During the 2016 election, over 12,000 people registered to vote on election day. However, Senate Bill 143 was introduced this year in an attempt to prohibit voter registration after 5 p.m. on the Friday before election day. Thankfully, it was tabled in committee and will likely never be voted on.

Still, this was plain and simple an attempt at voter suppression in our state. We need to be encouraging higher voter turnouts in the state, yet we are still having to fight bills like this. Our legislators need to stop introducing voter suppression bills and start focusing on actually bettering the lives of citizens and helping the state of Montana move forward.

This legislative session is a great time to make change in the state. I only hope that we can start to do what’s right for the people instead of letting legislators fight for what’s right for their party.