Thursday was the deadline for county commissions across the state to decide if they would support a mail ballot for the upcoming special election to select Montana’s sole congressman. By late afternoon, Ravalli County Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg, president of the Montana Association of Clerk and Recorders, had learned that 46 of the state’s 56 counties had passed a resolution to support a mail ballot. Only two – Richland and Bighorn – opted to hold that election at the poll. The resolution was required under a bill working its way through the Legislature that would allow for a mail ballot for the May 25th election that will decide who will be the state’s new congressman. The seat opened after Ryan Zinke was named Secretary of the Interior.
Since SB 305 has not yet passed the House, the decision to adopt a resolution was a proactive measure, Plettenberg said. The proposed legislation required that county commissioners pass the resolution allowing for the mail ballot 70 days before the election.
All of that could become moot March 23 when the House Judiciary Committee holds its hearing on SB 305, the legislation that would allow counties to use a mail ballot for the special election.
Full Article: 46 of 56 Montana counties support mail ballot for special election | Government | missoulian.com.