HELENA — The Montana Secretary of State’s Office says it’s resolved an issue, after an overseas voter reported not all candidates appeared on an electronic ballot.
A federal law says military members, their families and other eligible U.S. citizens living outside the country can vote through a special absentee ballot procedure, starting 45 days before the election. Montana has an Electronic Absentee System that allows those voters to get a ballot, which they can return through an online form or by email, fax or mail.
Montana opened EAS for this year’s election at 8 a.m. last Friday. However, according to an article in the Daily Inter Lake, a Flathead County man using the system found his ballot listed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but not Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen’s office said in a statement that they took the system down after learning of the issue, worked with a vendor to troubleshoot the problem, then had it back online by Friday afternoon.
“The Secretary of State's Office appreciates the vendor's quick troubleshooting and resolution,” their release said. “The Montana Elections Team is grateful to our Montana military members serving abroad, and we're honored to serve them, their families, and overseas citizens.”
A spokesperson told MTN Monday that they have contacted the voter who was affected, and that “no further action is required.”
The number of voters affected here is likely very small. Jacobsen’s office said about 350 people used the Electronic Absentee System during the primary election in June. They said the issue is not going to affect the ballots being printed for absentee voters within Montana or for polling place voters, and their statement criticized what they called “egregious misinformation campaigns circulating online.”
Mail ballots will start going out to voters within the state on October 11.
