Constitutional amendments facing mixed results

(Missoula Current) The fate of Montana's three ballot initiatives remained uncertain as of 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning with only 406 out of 727 precincts fully reporting.

But with more than 500,000 votes counted CI-128 – a constitutional amendment protecting a woman's right to make her own healthcare decisions – was leading with 57% of the vote.

The other two ballot initiatives – CI-126 and CI-127 – were both trailing in morning returns. CI-126, which would allow the top four candidates in a primary to advance to the general election regardless of party, was trailing by a 48% to 52% margin.

While that remained too close to call given the outstanding votes, its companion initiative in CI-127 appeared on a path to defeat. On Wednesday morning, it was trailing with only 39% in favor and 61% opposed.

That measure would have required any candidate to win more than 50% of the vote to be considered the winner. If no candidate won that percent, the Legislature would have decided how to determine the race outcome.