HELENA (AP) -- The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday declared "one or more" contested ballots in a disputed House race in Lake County invalid, meaning Democrat Jeanne Windham won the seat.

The 6-1 decision creates a 50-50 tie in the House and means the next House speaker will be from the party of Democratic Gov.-elect Brian Schweitzer.

The justices issued a two-page order Tuesday overturning District Judge Kim Christopher's ruling earlier this month that seven contested ballots had properly been counted for Constitution Party candidate Rick Jore.

Throwing out even one of those ballots means the vote tally swings to Windham, the court said.

"Since the race for House District 12 was declared a tie, it is undisputed that if the District Court erred with regard to any one of the seven ballots, Jeanne Windham will have won election to the Montana House of Representatives," the court said.

Mike Meloy, the Helena attorney who filed the lawsuit over the disputed ruling, hailed the court's decision.

"This is a great ruling, not only for Jeanne but for the system," he said. "The Supreme Court followed the precedent that has been set since almost the beginning of statehood."

Meloy represents Anita Big Spring, a Ronan voter who challenged the votes counted for Jore.

The race between Jore of Ronan and Windham of Polson was declared a tie after a recount earlier this month. That gave Republican Gov. Judy Martz authority to appoint the winner. She chose the conservative Jore.

Christopher's ruling upheld the tie and left Jore's appointment in place.

In its order Tuesday, the Supreme Court did not say why it concluded that one or more of the ballots counted for Jore was invalid, but said it would issue a "full written and published opinion" later.