Flathead election officials prepare for May 25

Following the death last week of a legislative proposal allowing counties to hold Montana’s upcoming special election by mail-in ballots only, Flathead County election officials are preparing for a “full-poll” election for the state’s U.S. House seat on May 25.

County election supervisor Monica Lindeen said despite the unusual Thursday Election Day, her office was able to keep all but one of the county’s polling places consistent with last November’s elections.

The exception is Precinct 7, for which voters typically cast ballots at the Kalispell Armed Forces Reserve Center on U.S. 93 North. That precinct has instead been assigned to the polling place at Hope Church, 436 Birch Grove Road.

Absentee ballots will still be available ahead of the election and will be mailed to voters May 1. Address changes and new registrations can still be mailed to the county elections office, but must be received by April 25. After that date, those requests must be submitted in person.

Late registration begins April 26 and closes May 24 at noon.

Absentee ballots can also be requested up until that time, but voters may have to deliver those “mail-in” ballots in person.

Montana’s special election was first set in motion late last year, when then-President-elect Donald Trump announced he was considering the Treasure State’s lone House Representative, Ryan Zinke, to join his Cabinet as the Secretary of the Interior.

Following Zinke’s Senate confirmation to the post and the concurrent vacancy of his House seat last month, Gov. Steve Bullock set the special election to replace him for May 25 — the earliest possible election date under state law.

Voters in the statewide election will select a replacement to serve the remainder of his term. The state’s three official political parties held special conventions in March to choose their nominees: Democrat Rob Quist, Libertarian Mark Wicks and Republican Greg Gianforte.

While the ballot will be restricted to a single public office, Lindeen noted that many voters are still unsure about the election process after a month-long legislative fight ended with the rejection of a bill that would have allowed counties to hold the election solely by mail-in ballots.

Elections offices from all but two of Montana’s 56 counties had endorsed the measure, including Flathead County. County officials cited the significant increase in costs to hold full-poll elections that require opening polling places manned by judges and other election administrators.

House Republicans, however, lined up in opposition to the bill, arguing that such an election would be less secure and could bias voter turnout in favor of the Democratic candidate.

“The main thing is that people are really confused right now; I think they were pretty hopeful that it would be a vote-by-mail election,” Lindeen said. “It’s not, and they have to be on the absentee list to vote by mail.”

Voters can register, confirm whether they’re on the county’s absentee-ballot list or check other registration details by visiting www.MyVoterPageMT.com.

The Flathead County Election Department’s office is located at the new South Campus Building, 40 11th Street West in Kalispell.

For more information, contact the elections office at 406-758-5535 or visit flathead.mt.gov/election.