County prepares for early voting

Ballots will go out in the mail on Oct. 9 to kick off early voting in Flathead County for the Nov. 6 general election.

The ballot contains candidates for president, U.S. Senate, Montana governor, Flathead County commissioners, district judges and state legislators, among other races.

In Flathead County, about 14,000 absentee ballots currently are destined for the post office, elections Deputy Monica Eisenzimer said.

That represents nearly a quarter of the 59,000 registered voters in the county.

Eisenzimer said she expects the number of early ballots to be on par with the 2008 presidential election year, when the county sent out more than 20,000 absentee ballots and 19,000 were returned.

Because of the growing importance of early voting, the Daily Inter Lake today begins its pre-election coverage. See Page 4 for the inaugural legislative race preview.

Registered voters may request an absentee ballot by going to the election office, which is temporarily located in the Country Fair Kitchen at the Flathead County Fairgrounds at 265 N. Meridian Road in Kalispell.

Voters can get an absentee ballot there, take it home and mail it back or return it in person. Voters also may fill out their absentee ballots at the election office.

It’s open from 8 a.m. to  5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Voters also may submit written requests to have an absentee ballots mailed to them. Those requests should be sent to the elections office at 800 S. Main St., Room 115, Kalispell, MT 59901.

Absentee ballot request forms may be downloaded from the county website at http://flathead.mt.gov/election or on the Montana Secretary of State’s website at sos.mt.gov/Elections.

Election Administrator Paula Robinson noted that this year’s ballot is three pages on two separate ballot sheets. Voters will fill out the first page, flip it over to the second page, and then go to the second sheet of paper for the third page.

“It’s really important for people to realize they have to vote the entire ballot,” she stressed.

A sample ballot will be on the county website as soon as the election office receives one, hopefully this week, Robinson said.

Late voter registration starts Oct. 10 and runs through noon on Nov. 5, and then from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Montana is one of only a few states that allow late registration. However, due to an anticipated high voter turnout this year, “our office strongly urges everyone to be registered prior to Election Day,” Robinson said.