Ballot error shuts down Montana online absentee voting system
A roll of "I Voted" stickers at the Trade Center at the Flathead County Fairgrounds on Tuesday, Nov. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
When Max Himsl opened his electronic ballot on Friday, he was dismayed to see a candidate missing from the list of options.
Voting absentee electronically while living abroad, Himsl saw that under the options for president, only Republican Donald Trump and Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were listed. Missing was Democrat Kamala Harris.
“I’m upset my democratic process was interrupted,” he said.
Election officials were notified of the error shortly after the Electronic Absentee System that allows certain voters to cast their ballot electronically went live on Friday at 8 a.m., according to the Montana Secretary of State’s Office which reported that the error was isolated to the online system.
“Our team and the vendor quickly investigated and found that only a few voters may have been impacted,” the Secretary of State’s Office said through email. “As a precaution, the Electronic Absentee System has been taken offline until troubleshooting is completed.”
The system was expected to be available to eligible voters later Friday, including those few voters who may have been impacted, the office said.
Flathead County residents, Himsel and his wife are living and working abroad in the United Kingdom. It’s his first time voting absentee this way.
“This is very concerning to me,” said Himsl, who reported the issue to the Flathead County Election Department on Friday morning. Soon after he received an email notifying him that the Montana Secretary of State’s office was aware of and working to correct the error.
The federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act allows certain groups of citizens living overseas including members of the armed forces to vote absentee in elections. Montana residents can do so online through the state’s Electronic Absentee System.
The Electronic Absentee System allows eligible voters to cast their ballot online beginning 45 days before the federal election, which for the general Election Day on Nov. 5, was Friday, Sept. 20.
“This does not affect any other ballots, including those that will be sent by mail,” the Secretary of State’s Office said.
Deputy Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.