Montana

Montana: New voting law cost counties more money, added work for staff, blocked ballots | Jenna Martin/Daily Montanan

A new law passed in the 2025 Montana legislative session required voters to add their birth year to their ballots for the November 2025 municipal elections. While the Montana Secretary of State touted “only one percent” of ballots rejected due to missing or mismatched birth year, the individual county statistics show a different story, adding extra costs and labor to counties across the state as they worked to resolve the rejected ballots. “663 rejected ballots is definitely an uptick,” said Flathead County Election Administrator Debbie Pierson, pointing out that the voters of Flathead County reduced the number of rejected ballots due to signature mismatch by 50% when compared to the school district election that took place earlier this year. Read Article

Montana: Thousands of ballots rejected due to new birth year law | Micah Drew/Daily Montanan

Voters who did not follow a new Montana law requiring electors write their birth year on the envelope of an absentee ballot had the chance to fix the issue if they responded to a call, mailed notice or email from their local election department, but thousands of ballots still ended up in the rejected pile when all the counting was finalized. According to the Secretary of State’s office, “only one percent” of ballots were rejected due to a missing or mismatched birth year. However, some counties had rejection rates significantly higher than one percent, and almost all large counties saw higher rates than previous elections. The Secretary of State’s office did not provide any aggregate data showing the statewide rejection rate, and did not respond to several questions from the Daily Montanan about the new process, including specifics about cases of potential fraud the office said were prevented due the new law. Read Article

Montana: New law requires election officials to reject mail ballots that aren’t signed with voters’ birth years | Eric Dietrich/Montana Free Press

This fall’s municipal elections will give Montana voters their first encounter with a new requirement to provide their birth year on the back of mail-in ballot envelopes alongside the previously required signature line. The change is a result of a legislative mandate aimed at enhancing mail election security that took effect Oct. 1. Election officials in Montana’s two largest counties, Yellowstone and Missoula, said this week that the change had already forced them to reject hundreds of ballots in early returns — 411 as of Thursday, according to Missoula County Election Administrator Bradley Seaman, and about 440 as of Wednesday, according to Yellowstone County Election Administrator Dayna Causby. Read Article

Montana: Advocacy groups sue over new absentee ballot law | Victoria Eavis/Helena Independent Record

A disability rights nonprofit and an elderly advocacy organization are suing the secretary of state over a recently enacted law that they say could disproportionately harm their ability to vote absentee. This complaint marks the third lawsuit — but the fourth bill — filed over elections-related bills since the 69th legislative session adjourned earlier this year. House Bill 719, sponsored by Columbia Falls Republican Rep. Braxton Mitchell and backed by Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen’s office, is the latest bill to be entangled in a lawsuit. The main provision of that new law requires Montanans voting absentee — which accounts for the majority of ballots cast in Montana — to now write their birthdate on the outermost envelope. Like a signature comparison which already exists in state law, elections officials would now also have to compare that date to the one they provided when registering to vote. Read Article

Montana Sued Over Law That Rejects Absentee Ballots for Minor Date Errors | Yunior Rivas/Democracy Docket

Voting rights groups filed suit Friday to block a new law that forces Montana voters to include their date of birth on both their absentee ballot application and the ballot envelope, or risk having their vote tossed. The plaintiffs, including Disability Rights Montana and Big Sky 55+, call it unnecessary, burdensome and a solution in search of a problem. “HB 719 will disenfranchise voters without sufficient justification,” the complaint alleges. “It violates Montana’s Constitution, which guarantees Montanans the right to suffrage.” Read Article

Montana lawmakers tighten voting rules, signature-gathering laws. | Tom Lutey/Montana Free Press

Several bills passed during the 2025 legislative session change state election laws governing elections, including how late Montanans can register to vote. Senate Bill 490, sponsored by Sen. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, changes the deadline for registering to vote or changing voter information. Proponents said the bill would put an end to long lines of last-minute voters waiting, sometimes until after midnight on Election Day, to register and vote. The bill limits same-day registration to a four-hour period on Election Day, and ends the ability to register on the Monday before an election. Previously, anyone in line by 8 p.m. on Election Day could register to vote. Cuffe told lawmakers that county election officials across the state asked for the change. Read Article

Montana: Indigenous voting rights dispute in Montana surfaces before 2024 election | Tom Lutey/Montana Free Press

Fort Peck tribal members are suing Valley County seeking satellite voting locations, arguing that Indigenous voters have poor access to the polls. Attorneys for the tribal voters say the absence of satellite voting locations in Frazer and Poplar violates the rights of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribes. Voters must drive 23 miles one way to vote in person and receive basic voter assistance available off the reservation. The reservation straddles Valley and Roosevelt counties. The tribes have asked both to improve voting access for tribal members in this year’s election. Read Article

Montana: Errors in Silver Bow County primary election identified | Mike Smith/Montana Standard

Butte-Silver Bow officials believe hundreds of votes from pre-election test ballots were mistakenly counted during the June 4 primary and that was the biggest error that led a recent recount. Four of five state senators looking into the errors were satisfied with the explanations Tuesday and after several hours of testimony, they rejected a request by Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, for further investigation. Manzella called the errors a “catastrophic failure” and said she wasn’t “100% sure” explanations by Linda Sajor-Joyce, Butte-Silver Bow’s clerk and recorder, were the actual reasons behind an overcount of more than 1,100 votes. But two Republican senators — Mike Cuffe of Eureka and Shelley Vance of Belgrade — joined Butte Democrats Edie McClafferty and Ryan Lynch in voting against Manzella’s call. Read Article

Montana Supreme Court Strikes Down Election Laws  | Denali Sagner/Flathead Beacon

The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down four election laws passed by the 2021 Montana Legislature, affirming a 2022 ruling by a state district court judge. According to the court’s opinion, the four laws impose an undue burden on citizens attempting to cast a ballot and, specifically, curtail voting access for college students and Montanans living on Native reservations. Read Article

Montana: Broken seals, shredding and a FBI investigation: Carbon County couple raise election concerns | Darrell Erlick/Daily Montanan

Albert “Chip” and Lisa Bennett filed a lawsuit in Carbon County, Montana, and initiated an investigation by the state Department of Criminal Investigation, now reportedly with the FBI, seeking answers regarding Election Night 2022 irregularities. The Bennetts, not aligning with any party, became concerned when they observed broken safety seals on voting machines during a demonstration, suggesting possible tampering. Despite their claim that the 2020 election was not rigged, the Bennetts sought information about the broken seals, shredded ballots on video, and a commissioner handling ballots. Carbon County officials stated the seals were replaced during servicing, but the Bennetts allege unresponsiveness, prompting them to request thousands of emails for clues. Read Article

Montana: Officials tout progress with new election management software | Alex Sakariassen/Montana Free Press

Montana state officials express confidence in the readiness of the new ElectMT election management software, developed by by KNOWiNK, after testing it in local elections this year. While acknowledging some bugs and routine changes, the elections manager stated that overall feedback from county election administrators has been positive. ElectMT officially replaced the 17-year-old Montana Votes system in January 2023, serving as the central hub for voter registration and reporting election night results. Specific improvements include the ability for voters to track school and municipal ballots, accurate mapping of voter addresses, and ongoing efforts to enter newly redrawn legislative boundaries for next year’s state elections. Read Article

Montana: ‘It’s like mob rule here’: Ravalli County panelists claim 2020 election fraud | Jessica Abell/Ravalli Republic

Nearly three years after then-President Donald Trump first rejected the upcoming results of the 2020 presidential election, the Ravalli County Commission hosted a panel of speakers questioning the outcome and integrity of elections in Ravalli County and across Montana. While a crowd of nearly 400 people filled the Ravalli County Fairgrounds Events Center on Monday night for the meeting, few were left after it adjourned nearly five hours later. Former Ravalli County Sherriff Jay Printz described the event as a “big old bitch session.” “Jesus, it’s like mob rule here,” Printz said after several speakers accused Ravalli County officials of numerous discredited claims of election fraud. Read Article

Montana: Plenty of conspiracies, but few facts at large election fraud summit in Ravalli County | Nicole Girten/Daily Montanan

Former Ravalli County Sheriff Jay Printz voiced concerns about alleged election anomalies and rigging during the 2020 and 2022 elections in Montana, but his views were in the minority. Presenter Greg Woodward relied on debunked claims by election denier Douglas Frank to support conspiracy theories about election machine malfeasance, which lacked evidence. Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg defended the hand-counting process and refuted the allegations. Republican legislators expressed skepticism towards the claims. Various conspiracy theories were discussed, including one involving a donation from Mark Zuckerberg. The meeting highlighted the absence of concrete evidence for widespread fraud. Read Article

Montana: How Lincoln County’s ‘Big Lie’ Upended an Election Department | Tristan Scott/Flathead Beacon

Lincoln County’s election officials in Montana resigned en masse after facing unfounded allegations of fraud and falsifying documents from the county commissioners. The respected officials had been commended for their work and were trusted by candidates and the community. The commissioners’ accusations and hostile environment created by extremist party politics led to the departures. The vacancies pose concerns about the county’s ability to run future elections and deter prospective employees from public service. The tensions reflect a broader trend of election officials stepping away due to baseless accusations and threats, perpetuated by conspiracy theories and disinformation about election security. Read Article

How will Montana police the integrity of its future elections? | Alex Sakariassen/Montana Free Press

The past three months have featured one legislative debate after another over proposed changes to how counties conduct elections and verify their results. But last week the conversation took an inevitable turn into the realm of enforcement — in other words, how Montana will police the integrity of its elections moving forward. The first pitch came last Wednesday from Rep. Neil Duram, R-Eureka, who suggested the state establish an “election security team” made up of eight appointees handpicked by statewide officials, legislative leaders and the Montana Supreme Court. Duram’s House Bill 905 would task that team with overseeing a post-election hand count of all ballots cast in every Montana precinct — numbering 663 as of the 2022 general election — and report its findings to state and county election officials.

Source: How will Montana police the integrity of its future elections?

Montana: Tabulator ban, closed primaries voted down as election bills pile up | Sam Wilson/Helena Independet Record

Three controversial proposals backed by right-wing “election integrity” groups were summarily tabled by Montana lawmakers following committee hearings that stretched through Saturday. The bills, all sponsored by Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, would have banned machine-counting of ballots, required votes be counted at the county precincts they were cast in and moved Montana to closed primary elections. As a crucial legislative deadline nears, the bills to drastically change the way elections are conducted in Montana surfaced in the midst of a procedural bottleneck. The approaching transmittal deadline prompted the Senate State Administration Committee to hold an unusual Saturday meeting to consider them alongside a half-dozen other bills. The committee chair, Sen. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, acknowledged the time crunch, caused in part by a bill-drafting process that has stretched longer into the session than it typically does.

Full Article: Tabulator ban, closed primaries voted down as election bills pile up

Montana Democrats say election security committee is a waste of time | Shaylee Ragar/Montana Public Radio

A special committee on election security will have its first meeting at the Montana Legislature on Thursday. Republicans and Democrats are at odds over its purpose. Republican Sen. Carl Glimm from the Flathead will chair the special select committee on election security. He says the six-person, Republican majority committee will have two main goals. “I would like to see us come out the other end with good legislation, if we deem that it’s necessary, and I would like for us to be able to give assurance to the citizens of Montana that our elections are the best they can be.” Glimm did not point to a specific case where elections have been flawed, but said there’s always room for improvement. Glimm says lawmakers are responding to concerns about election security from constituents, and will ask for expert testimony about how to prosecute election fraud, the chain of command of ballots at county elections offices and how ballot tabulation machines work.

Full Article: Democrats say election security committee is a waste of time | Montana Public Radio

Montana elections officials claim harassment from election deniers: ‘They’re making our lives miserable’ | David Murray and Traci Rosenbaum/Great Falls Tribune

It is not an exaggeration to say that the United States is embroiled in one of the most contentious political periods in its history. A recent NBC poll found that 81% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans said they believe “the political opposition poses a threat that if not stopped will destroy America as we know it.” Montana has largely managed to avoid the most fractious of these disputes – due in large part to the overwhelming control Republicans currently enjoy in state politics. In 2020, Montana Republicans won every statewide race and gained a veto-proof 67 to 33 advantage in the House. Yet for more than a year there have been rising voices of concern over the integrity of elections, both in Cascade County and across Montana, by groups still pointing to the false claims regarding 2020’s presidential election. Much of the criticism in Cascade County centers around the county’s elections office and the Cascade County Commissioners. Since at least June 2021, members involved in several conservative groups have made repeated allegations of voting irregularities across Cascade County, and have demanded that the paper ballots from the 2020 general election be preserved for a possible future investigation.

Source: Montana elections officials claim harassment from election deniers

Montana GOP lawmaker: Republican election laws tied to concerns that college students vote ‘liberal’ | Sam Wilson/Helena Independent Record

A Republican state lawmaker testified in a Billings courtroom Tuesday that her GOP colleagues were motivated when crafting new election laws last year by the perception that “college students tend to be liberal.” Rep. Geraldine Custer, a former long-time elections official from Forsyth, made no secret of her opposition to several of her party’s priority election bills during the 2021 session. Three of those measures that were signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte are being challenged in an ongoing trial in Yellowstone District Court that began last week. Custer was at times her party’s lone voice of opposition to those laws. She was the only Republican “no” vote on one that changed voter identification to require additional documentation if a voter tries to use a student ID from a Montana college. Among nearly a dozen plaintiffs in the consolidated court case, a trio of youth advocacy organizations are challenging the student ID bill as unconstitutional because it discriminates against young voters. In response to a question from Rylee Sommers-Flanagan, an attorney representing Montana Youth Action, Forward Montana Foundation and the Montana Public Interest Research Group, Custer suggested some Republican lawmakers possess a “mistrust” of young voters. “The general feeling in the caucus is that college students tend to be liberal, and so that’s the concern with them voting,” Custer said.

Full Article: GOP lawmaker: Republican election laws tied to concerns that college students vote ‘liberal’ | 406 Politics | helenair.com

Montana Secretary of State’s office refers to ‘wingnuts’ pushing Missoula County election allegations | Sam Wilson/Nontana Standard

The chief legal counsel for Montana’s top elections official referred to claims of election irregularities in Missoula County as a conspiracy theory advanced by “wingnuts” during a legal deposition in which he was designated to speak under oath as Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen’s representative. The comments were made public Thursday near the end of a nine-day trial to determine the constitutionality of several election laws enacted by Republicans last year. Austin James is the chief legal counsel for Jacobsen, who is the sole defendant in the civil case. He took the stand as the final witness in the marathon trial. Nearly a dozen plaintiffs are asking Yellowstone County District Court Judge Michael Moses to strike down elections laws that tightened photo ID restrictions for voters, eliminated Election Day registration and restrict third-party ballot collection. The bench trial ended Thursday afternoon. The allegations refer to claims by right-wing activists that their public records inspection of ballot envelopes in Missoula County last year revealed discrepancies with the official election numbers certified by the county and the state in 2020. Alarmed by indications conservative voters were becoming convinced their votes don’t count, Missoula County Republicans this spring undertook their own records request and found no substantial difference from the official tally. County election officials have criticized the original group’s methods as imprecise and error-prone.

Full Article: Secretary of State’s office refers to ‘wingnuts’ pushing Missoula Co. election allegations | 406 Politics | mtstandard.com

Montana judge strikes down election law targeting 18-year-old voters | Sam Wilson/Helena Independent Record

A state district court judge on Wednesday struck down a Republican-backed law preventing anyone who turns 18 before Election Day from getting a ballot before their birthday, finding that it infringes on young Montanans’ right to vote. Yellowstone County District Court Judge Michael G. Moses partially ruled in favor of a coalition of youth groups that challenged the law, along with other election-related legislation, last year. The group includes Montana Youth Action, the Forward Montana Foundation and the Montana Public Interest Research Group. “Young people’s participation in democracy is essential. Today, the court affirmed what we already knew: Restricting access to the ballot is an obvious wrong,” Kiersten Iwai, executive director at Forward Montana Foundation, said in an emailed statement. “Now, our newest voters can get involved at the earliest possible opportunity because they will have the same level of access to the ballot as all other Montanans.”

Full Article: Judge strikes down election law targeting 18-year-old voters | 406 Politics | helenair.com

Montana: Here’s why the primary ballots in Lincoln County are being counted by hand | Kiana Wilson/KPAX

Lincoln County has had to resort to hand counting all the ballots for the primary election because the ballots were cut too short and will not work in the automatic counting machines. This will delay the election results. “This is a very, very tedious, monotonous process. It takes a lot of you know, concentration and focus. And I don’t you know, I would rather take it slow and steady and be accurate 100% of the time rather than trying to push it and stretch it out until six o’clock in the morning and end up with shoddy results,” Lincoln County Elections Administrator Paula Buff said Wednesday. The whole ballot snafu began when the ballots arrived a week late from the Couer D’Alene Printing Press, without a test deck. After retrieving the test deck, Buff cuts the test deck to the required 14” to run in the machine. But when the absentee ballots arrived, they were a ¼” too short and would not run through the machines. After many tests and possible solutions, Buff and members from the Montana Secretary of State’s office decided that the best course of action would be to hand count all of the ballots. Despite the complications, election officials say it comes down to the community. “I kind of send out the Bat Signal at the last minute and, ‘hey, who wants to count?’ and you know, I mean, most of our, you know, election judges are elderly, but, you know, they have some serious stamina and staying power,” Buff said. “And, you know, some of them have more energy than me, I think.”

Full Article: Here’s why the primary ballots in Lincoln Co. are being counted by hand

Montana: Wrong-sized ballots delay results in US House race | Amy Beth Hanson/Associated Press

Ballot printing errors have delayed election results for Montana’s new congressional seat, forcing a small northwestern county to count votes by hand in the unexpectedly close Republican primary race between former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and former state Sen. Al “Doc” Olszewski. Zinke led Olszewski by 1,181 votes, or 1.5 percentage points, out of 80,194 votes counted, as of 3:30 p.m. local time Wednesday. Lincoln County had an estimated 6,000 ballots to hand count. Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, was considered the favorite in the race and had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. “The race appears to answer the question of whether President Trump is a ‘kingmaker,’ as Zinke has previously said,” said Christina Barsky, a University of Montana professor who teaches classes in election administration, government and public budgeting. The trouble in Lincoln County stemmed from a vendor printing the ballots on the wrong-sized paper, meaning they could not be run through a machine tabulator, the secretary of state’s office said Wednesday. By law, ballots have to either all be counted by machine or all counted by hand, spokesperson Richie Melby said. Lincoln County Clerk and Recorder Robin Benson said in a statement that the hand count was expected to take two to three days. Election officials started counting ballots on Tuesday.

Source: Wrong-sized ballots delay results in Montana US House race | AP News

Montana election officials report threats ahead of primary | Sam Wilson/Helena Independent Record

Full Article: Montana election officials report threats ahead of primary | 406 Politics | helenair.com

Montana: GOP lawmakers, activists go local with push for hand-counted ballots | Sam Wilson/Helena Independent Record

Full Article: GOP lawmakers, activists go local with push for hand-counted ballots | 406 Politics | helenair.com

Montana: District court blocks GOP’s new voting laws | Alex Sakariassen/Missoula Current

A district court judge in Yellowstone County on Wednesday temporarily blocked four new election administration laws passed by the 2021 Montana Legislature that have been challenged by the Montana Democratic Party and a coalition of Indigenous and voter advocacy organizations. In his order granting the injunction, Judge Michael Moses said the plaintiffs made a convincing case they would suffer “irreparable injury” by “the loss of constitutional rights” if the laws were not blocked for the remainder of the legal proceedings. The Montana Democratic Party, which has submitted hundreds of pages of declarations and expert testimony to support its position, hailed the order as a “win for voting rights.” “These four GOP bills were a blatant and cynical attack on Montanans’ constitutional right to vote, specifically impacting young voters, Native voters, elderly and disabled voters, and voters who have trouble getting to the polls,” said Sheila Hogan, the party’s executive director, in an emailed statement. “You cannot pick and choose who can vote in a democracy.” Helena attorney Rylee Sommers-Flanagan, who represents Montana Youth Action and several other youth-oriented voter nonprofits in the case, similarly referred to the injunction as a “victory for young voters and for all Montanans.” Ronnie Jo Horse, executive director for plaintiff Western Native Voice, said in a statement that her group will “continue to hold our elected officials accountable especially when it comes to voting rights for our Native communities.”

Full Article: District court blocks Montana GOP’s new voting laws – Missoula Current

Montana’s new voter management system to be tested during 2022 primaries | Sam Wilson/Helena Independent Record

Full Article: Test-runs of MT’s new election system to begin with 2022 primaries | 406 Politics | helenair.com

Montana election officials worry Secretary of State is rushing new election system | Sam Wilson/Helena Independent Record

Full Article: Election officials worry Secretary of State is rushing new election system | 406 Politics | helenair.com

Montana: GOP legislators push for special panel to probe elections | Sam Wilson/Helena Independent Record

Full Article: GOP legislators push for special panel to probe Montana elections | 406 Politics | helenair.com