Missoula County Government: Elections Office Encourages Polling Place Voters To Prepare For Primary, Provides Voter Education Opportunities

Missoula MT

25 May, 2022

3:39 PM

Description

Press release from the Missoula County Government: May 24, 2022 Twenty-seven polling places will be open across Missoula County on Election Day. While approximately 85% of Missoula County voters choose to receive their ballots in the mail for every election, Montana statute requires polling places to be open on Election Day for any regularly scheduled federal, state or county election. Due to a COVID-era executive order allowing all-mail elections and the fact that most local elections are conducted entirely by mail, polling places were not open for the past several elections. This has prompted numerous questions to the Elections Office. "The No. 1 question we've been getting ahead of this election is from voters wondering why they didn't receive their ballots in the mail for this election, when they did for the past few," Elections Administrator Bradley Seaman said. "If polling place voters would like to receive their ballots in the mail instead, we encourage them to come to the Elections Office as soon as possible to make that change." Because the election is fewer than 30 days away, Missoula County residents who need to register to vote or make changes to their registration, such as updating their address or changing their mail ballot status, must now do so in person by noon on Monday, June 6, at the Missoula County Elections Center. The Elections Center is located at 140 N. Russell St., and staff will provide voter services in the green building on the east side of the parking lot. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. this week. Starting Tuesday, May 31, the office will be open until 6 p.m. on weekdays leading up to the primary election, as well as from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 4. 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, May 31: Election equipment testing. Elections staff will test the tabulators used to count ballots to ensure they are working properly ahead of Election Day. They will also test the ADA-compliant ExpressVote ballot marking devices to ensure they are operating correctly at polling locations on Election Day. 9:45 a.m. Thursday, June 2: Ballot processing. Attendees will observe staff and volunteers following the multi-step process used to verify signatures, process ballots and ensure that each ballot cast is counted. 8:45 a.m. Monday, June 6: Ballot tabulation. Attendees will observe staff conducting the final test of equipment, as well as the counting and retention process for voted ballots. 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, May 31: Election equipment testing. Elections staff will test the tabulators used to count ballots to ensure they are working properly ahead of Election Day. They will also test the ADA-compliant ExpressVote ballot marking devices to ensure they are operating correctly at polling locations on Election Day. 2:45 p.m. Monday, June 13: Provisional ballot count. Attendees will observe staff counting any accepted provisional ballots for the election. 8:45 a.m. Friday, June 17: Post-election audit. Attendees will observe the process used to confirm that equipment worked correctly during the election. Staff hand-count ballots from three randomly selected precincts and compare them to the election results to ensure tabulators correctly counted ballots. 3 p.m. Monday, June 20: Election canvass. State law requires the Elections Office and three county elected officials verify the election with a canvass. The canvass ensures the number of ballots voted are the number of ballots counted and that no ballots are missing or counted more than once. Residents who vote by mail can confirm the Elections Office has received and accepted their ballot by visiting www.MyVoterPageMT.com. Contact the Elections Office at [email protected] or 406-258-4751 to ask questions or for more information. This press release was produced by the Missoula County Government. The views expressed here are the author's own.