As 2025 draws to a close, it’s an opportunity to look back and reflect on our work. We are proud of the work we’ve done to protect Montanan’s civil rights on critical issues including voting rights, Indigenous Justice, 2S-LGBTQIA+ rights, immigrant rights, and more. Here are just a few examples of media coverage of our work in 2025.
Indigenous Voting Rights
We started 2025 with Indigenous voting rights on our mind: Way back in January 2025, the US Supreme Court declined to hear a voting rights case that could have negatively affected Native voters across Montana. As ACLU of Montana deputy director and legal director Alex Rate said at the time, "We have repeatedly seen Montana courts strike down bills that the Legislature has passed as unconstitutional, and yet they continue to advance things that are patently unlawful."
In June, we were back in court challenging SB 490, a 2025 Montana law that restricts Indigenous participation in the state’s electoral process eliminating eight critical hours of registration opportunity on Election Day; this case is still ongoing.
Now, we’re ending 2025 with Indigenous voting rights still on or mind, as we successfully secured a settlement agreement requiring Chouteau County to redraw its county commission districts, a change that will “allow citizens of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation to elect a representative of their choice for the first time in more than a decade.”
Looking ahead at 2026, Indigenous voting rights will no doubt continue to be an important issue as we monitor the Choteau County settlement agreement, continue to litigate against SB 490, and prepare for the midterm elections in November.
Transgender Rights
The rights of transgender people, and the rights of 2S-LGBTQIA+ people more broadly, have been another key focus of our 2025 work. In Spring of 2025, we strongly opposed an anti-trans bathroom law that passed during the legislative session. We swiftly challenged that discriminatory law and were granted a preliminary injunction; the case, Perkins et al v. Montana, is still ongoing.
More recently, we fought back when the Montana DMV tried to discriminate against nonbinary people; earlier this month we secured a victory in that case, with Akilah Deernose, executive director of the ACLU of Montana, saying, “Transgender and nonbinary people should not be forced to choose inaccurate gender markers, while cisgender residents face no such barrier.”
Immigrant Rights
2025 was also a significant year for immigrant rights as the Trump Administration targeted immigrants and their families with cruel and unlawful policies. In April, we filed suit on behalf of two MSU students who had their F-1 student status unfairly revoked. That case, Roe v Noem, has seen some recent victories, but the fight for the rights of immigrants continues in Montana and across the country.
And So Much More
In addition to the above issue areas, ACLU of Montana also spoke publicly about human trafficking, capital punishment, including Indigenous history in public education, access to abortion, a ballot initiative to keep Montana’s nonpartisan judicial elections (have you checked out Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts yet?), Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and more! Overall, ACLU of Montana’s work was covered in local, regional, and national news more than 120 times in 2025; that’s a new mention every two to three days.
Of course, news coverage is not the goal of our work, but it can help people learn about the work that ACLU of Montana--and our amazing allies and partner organizations--are doing to secure the rights of every person living in Montana. We hope you’ll join us in making that future a reality.