The decision to set the election date for Montana’s lone congressman on the Thursday just before Memorial Day weekend has sent election administrations scrambling. Ravalli County Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg said the governor selected one of the three worst dates possible for the election to fill the seat vacated by now Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke. “I know the train of thought was to get it done as quickly as possible so the state can have a replacement in Congress,” Plettenberg said. “Election administrators across the state did ask for June 6, but unfortunately that wasn’t the date selected.” Instead, Gov. Steve Bullock selected Thursday, May 25 to hold the special election.
For Plettenberg, that means the county’s largest polling place won’t be available.
“Hamilton High School will be preparing for its graduation ceremonies that day,” she said Friday. “At this point, I’m still searching for another location. This is really bad. … I can’t blame the school. Normally we have elections planned two years out and the schools are able to plan their graduations around primary elections.
“They didn’t have the opportunity to do that this time around,” Plettenberg said. “My schools felt awful.”
Full Article: Election administrators struggle to prepare for special election | Local News | ravallirepublic.com.