The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned back an election law case out of Montana that relied on a controversial legal theory with the potential to change the way elections are run across the country. The high court declined to hear the case in a brief order without explaining its reasoning,

Holocaust survivor Stanislaw Zalewski attends the Commemoration Ceremony of the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, in Oswiecim, Poland, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

The Montana Senate on Monday voted unanimously to open an ethics investigation into the actions of Sen. Jason Ellsworth — with him in support — when he signed a $170,100 contract with a business associate late last year.

The legislation, Senate Bill 164, is one of several strategies Republican lawmakers in Montana and other states have advanced in recent years to prohibit transgender minors from receiving medical treatments that help align their appearance with their gender identity.

"The people of Montana expect that we find and adjudicate corruption in state government," Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kalispell.

Montana GOP lawmakers are prioritizing bills that would give them more oversight of the judicial branch. More than half a dozen advanced on Friday.

Several Republican judicial reform bills got initial approval Thursday in the first test of the party's legislative priority, albeit with inconsistent measures of GOP support.

The Montana Senate voted Monday to refer questions over Sen. Jason Ellsworth’s handling of a state contract to the Senate Ethics Committee for a full investigation.

Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen argues that only lawmakers have sway over state elections under the U.S. Constitution. She asked the justices to consider the case after the state’s highest court struck down laws ending same-day voter registration and prohibiting paid ballot collection.

Senate President Matt Regier, a Kalispell Republican, said Thursday that he has “very, very serious concerns” about the contract arrangement.

On Thursday, the Montana House and Senate voted on seven Republican-sponsored bills that would make changes to the state’s judicial branch and legal system.

Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen argues that only lawmakers have sway over state elections under the U.S. Constitution. She asked the justices to consider the case after the state’s highest court struck down laws ending same-day voter registration and prohibiting paid ballot collection.