As ballot-counting gets underway across Montana, a few people have experienced glitches in the voting process.
“I have some hesitations,” Storm Bakkila said. Bakkila was one of many voters Monday who came to Exhibition Hall at the Montana ExpoPark in Great Falls to inquire about their ballot and to cast their vote.
“I actually haven’t received my ballot when I was supposed to, so I have to come and get a new one. It just seems like everything has been a little clogged up and taking a little extra time than it usually does,” said Bakkila. Despite the glitch, Bakkila hasn’t lost faith in the voting process.
Carolyn Colman was very concerned as she waited in line outside Exhibition Hall. She said she mailed in her ballot and then got a letter in the mail about two weeks later saying she had not yet voted.
“That makes me very concerned and very suspicious. I usually trust people, but for that to happen, to just disappear from where I live and go into thin air I guess, it was just very unusual. But, things happen,” said Colman.
Cascade County Clerk & Recorder Rina Fontana-Moore said voters shouldn’t be worried about their ballot. “If the signature was bad, we are now calling people. Earlier on, we mailed them letters. If they forgot to sign it, we’re calling people. If those two scenarios happen, they actually have until 3 o’ clock in the afternoon on Wednesday to rectify that,” she said.
Voters can check the status of their ballot online at the Montana Secretary Of State website. Once it’s been accepted, Moore said, it will be counted. As of Monday morning, a little less than 80 percent of the ballots mailed out to voters in Cascade County had been returned.
From the Cascade County Elections Office:
Election Day
Tuesday, November 3: Ballot drop-off, drive-by ballot drop-off, and in-person voting will take place at Exhibition Hall at Montana ExpoPark from 7 am to 8 pm.
Auto-Mark Voting Machine
We will provide additional places of deposit that will be equipped with an auto-mark voting machine on Election Day only (Tuesday) and the hours of operation will be 7 am to 8 pm and are as follows:
- Belt Senior Center - 19 Castner Street
- Main Office - 325 2nd Avenue North
- Sun River Senior Center - 13319 Montana Highway 200, Fort Shaw
- Vaughn Volunteer Fire Station - 14 4th Street
- Wedsworth Hall, Cascade - 13 Front Street
If you have questions or need more information, call the Elections Office at 406-454-6803, or click here to visit the website.
