HELENA — A federal judge Tuesday struck down a portion of Montana’s “clean campaign act,” saying it’s an unconstitutional burden on free speech to require political committees to notify candidates about last-minute attack campaign material.
U.S. District Judge Don Molloy of Missoula said the so-called “fair notice” requirement, which applies only to material distributed within 10 days of the election, has the potential to “chill” campaign speech in the final days before an election.