Local Elections
Your go-to source for Northwest Montana election news—covering candidates, issues, voting changes, and results. Get clear, timely updates from the Daily Inter Lake’s dedicated local reporting team.
Counting machines add vote of confidence to elections security
The conference room of the Flathead County Elections Department whirred with noise. Volunteers rattled off strings…
Applicants vie for vacant Kalispell City Council seat
The six applicants were asked to provide a brief presentation before Council expressing their interest.
Deadline nears to file as a school board trustee candidate
People wanting to serve as a school board trustee have until Feb. 9 to file paperwork to appear on the ballot for election day May 5.
Montana Supreme Court upholds AG finding that ballot issue is legally insufficient
The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s previous finding that a proposed ballot initiative aiming to end corporate spending in political campaigns is unconstitutional.
All eyes on western Montana as 2026 midterms approach
Midterm elections are still months away, but the race for Montana’s western congressional district is already heating up.
Flathead County creates independent Elections Department
The Northwest Montana county joins multiple counties across the state in a growing movement to convert election departments to an independent agency.
New voting law cost counties more money, added work for staff, blocked ballots
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.
Two children taken to hospital after inflatable slide tips at Canvas Church event
Two children were taken to the hospital after an inflatable slide tipped over at Canvas Church’s Middle School All Nighter event on Nov. 14 in Kalispell.
Candidates backed by donors that typically support Democrats will govern Montana’s reddest cities
They are Montana’s largest Republican cities, but Billings and Kalispell will be led by mayors whose campaigns were fueled by mostly Democratic donors followin…
Thousands of local election ballots rejected over Montana’s new year-of-birth requirement
A new requirement that voters write their year of birth on mail-in ballot envelopes resulted in more than 2,700 local-election ballots being rejected this week…
Ryan Hunter elected as Kalispell's next mayor, Flathead County jail bond passes
Ryan Hunter is the next mayor of Kalispell.
Election results from Lincoln, Lake and Sanders counties
Election results from Lincoln, Lake and Sanders counties
The latest election results from Flathead County
Flathead County Preliminary Unofficial Results
Incumbents win Whitefish City Council election
Councilors Giuseppe Caltabiano, Ben Davis and Andy Feury have been re-elected to Whitefish City Council. The fourth candidate and only non-incumbent challenger…
Columbia Falls High School Bond Fails
The Columbia Falls School District 6 bond request to remodel the high school appears to have failed.
Election Day is here, and it's not too late to cast a vote
The Flathead County Election Office is opening its doors at 7 a.m. on Election Day, Nov. 4, and voters have until 8 p.m. to turn in ballots.