HELENA — Election judges play a crucial role in our democracy, keeping ballot boxes and polling booths secure.
The election judges here in Lewis & Clark County are now trained for the November election.
"People come in and cast their ballots. Those ballots are then collected in a ballot box and counted. That's the general gist of it all, but there are rules on who can register. There are rules about provisional ballots. Rules about making sure everything is reconciled at the end of the night. There are a lot more items that add to it that can cause people to get a little overwhelmed sometimes," said Connor Fitzpatrick, the election division supervisor for Lewis and Clark County.
Roughly 35 people attended the three-hour training on Tuesday morning at the Helena Civic Center.
Learning about accepted IDs and documentation, how to maintain the poll books, and avoiding electioneering, the group is part of a 350-person pool of election judges.
Only some trainees will work on election day, but they need more than enough people trained in case some judges fall through.
Fitzpatrick said, "Anybody with skin in the game with elections – it's that they want to make sure that it's done with integrity, honesty, clarity."
Partners Penny Moon and Forrest Kartevold wanted to become election judges to see how the election works.
"The spur under my blanket was all the controversy. I totally believe in the integrity of our voting and elections. I just wanted to be a person that stood up for that," said Moon.
Kartevold said, "Let's just look at what actually goes on."
Lewis and Clark County has 32 precincts and 19 polling places.
All polls in the county will be open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM, except Dearborn Community Center and Canyon Creek School, which both open at noon.
After being certified on Tuesday, election judges will not need to be recertified until 2026.
