The Montana Libertarian Party is asking the Federal Election Commission to recognize it as a state committee of the national Libertarian Party, a designation that would change how it is treated under federal campaign finance law, including doubling the amount it can accept annually from individual donors.
The Montana party submitted its request on October 1, with the FEC making the document, Advisory Opinion Request 2026-03, public the following day. Formal recognition as a state committee would increase the amount an individual can contribute to the organization from $5,000 to $10,000 per calendar year, with that max limit shared among the state party and its affiliated district and local Libertarian committees in Montana.
It would also give the organization the authority to make coordinated party expenditures in support of its U.S. House and Senate general election nominees. Federal law previously capped that spending, but the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission struck down those limits as unconstitutional.
To qualify as such, the Montana organization must be affiliated with a national organization that itself qualifies as a political party. It must also be recognized by that national group as its relevant affiliate and be responsible for its day-to-day operations within the state. In determining that last requirement, the FEC generally considers whether the organization has placed a federal candidate on the ballot and whether its governing documents show that it performs the regular functions of a political party.
Montana Libertarian Party Treasurer Marty Albini writes in the request that the Montana organization currently satisfies all required qualifications. The FEC already recognizes the Libertarian Party as a political party, and Albini included a September 14 letter from the Libertarian National Committee confirming the Montana organization as the national party’s recognized affiliate in the state. The party also submitted documentation showing that it oversees party operations in Montana, including holding conventions, supporting candidates, developing state policy, and filing financial reports.
The filing further includes Montana’s official results from the 2024 general election and the nomination certificate for the Libertarian Party’s 2024 presidential ticket of Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat as additional evidence of the party’s electoral activity. The Montana party had initially rejected Oliver’s nomination following the national convention, calling on the national party to consider suspending and replacing him in a statement at the time. Regardless, the ticket was still placed on the Montana ballot under the Libertarian label.
However, even if the FEC concurs with Montana’s request, a decision cannot come until the commission regains a quorum of four, the minimum number of commissioners required to take action on advisory requests. The six-member agency has lacked the quorum needed for most official actions since April 30, 2025, when Commissioner Allen Dickerson left the commission and reduced its membership to three. Commissioner James Trainor later resigned October 3, 2025, leaving Shana Broussard and Dara Lindenbaum as the FEC’s only remaining commissioners.
President Donald Trump nominated Ashley Stow and Andrew Woodson to fill two of the vacancies in February. Both nominations remain before the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, which has taken no further action beyond receiving them. If both are confirmed, the FEC would again have the four members necessary for a quorum.
The lack of a quorum also led commission staff to ask Albini for more time to respond. In a separate exchange published with the application, staff requested an extension until the second business day following the commission’s second open meeting after a quorum is restored. Albini agreed, granting an extension “of whatever duration is required” for the request to come before the commission.
Montana is one of several Libertarian affiliates to seek the same recognition in recent years. The FEC recognized the Unified Libertarians of Massachusetts as a state party committee in December 2024, followed by the Libertarian parties of Idaho, Maine, Maryland, and Vermont in April 2025. All of those four were approved at the commission’s April 30 open meeting, the same day Dickerson’s departure reduced the FEC below quorum.
Despite the lack of a quorum needed to act, the FEC is still accepting written comments on the Montana Libertarian Party’s application through October 13.
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