BUTTE — A group working to place an initiative on the ballot concerning data center construction in Butte-Silver Bow County filed a lawsuit against the county Wednesday after learning that the 4,500 signatures it collected were rejected.
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Members of the group 406 People First say the initiative would allow public input by letting people vote on data center projects.
Erik Nylund, with Butte Watchdogs for Social and Environmental Justice, says his group worked alongside 406 People First and met the 3,600 signature requirement on July 30.
On Tuesday, they were told those signatures are no longer valid because they missed the July 13 submission date.
"We worked with them,” Nylund said.“We submitted our signatures. We got feedback on what might be wrong with some of them, and we worked together very cooperatively all along the way.”
The Butte-Silver Bow County attorney confirmed the petition was rejected based on a new statute that moved the deadline up for petitions like this one.
RELATED: Butte Chief Executive: Data center initiative would affect other new businesses
According to the county attorney, 406 People First asked the court for a preliminary injunction until the district court can review the case and the new statute. The injunction was granted, and an order came down Wednesday afternoon allowing the clerk and recorder to continue signature counting and review for now.
MTN contacted several officials in Butte-Silver Bow to ask how this happened.
"There seems to be a lack of transparency, and this is why I'm talking to you,” Butte-Silver Bow Commissioner Trudy Healy said. “I've got nothing to hide. I think the people need to know what's going on in their community because this affects their lives.”
The same statute led Yellowstone County to reject a similar petition there.
Brian Miller, attorney for Kassi Solberg and Yellowstone County Voices, the backers of the petition, says the group relied on the guidance of the county elections office.
"When the county's telling you over and over again in the email that you got August 12, why would you think you needed to go back and double check it?" Miller asked. "Going forward, we're going to be a lot more skeptical of Yellowstone County.”
After dozens of calls, MTN was not able to confirm who wrote the 2025 legislation that created the submission date.
Miller addressed what comes next for the group.
"This is just the beginning,” Miller said. “We are going to hold their feet to the fire, and we've got way more cards to play, and we intend to do everything we can to protect the people of Yellowstone County from these folks.”
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