Election administrators begin mailing primary ballots

County election administrators are mailing ballots for the June 2 all-mail primary election to approximately 597,576 registered Montana voters starting Friday, May 8.

Ballots are being sent to active registered voters. Postage is pre-paid to return ballots by mail. Anyone who is not registered to vote, or who needs to update their voting address, can still register by mail up until Tuesday, May 26 to receive a primary ballot. After that date, people who are not yet registered and want to receive a primary ballot will need to register in-person at the county election office while following social distancing guidelines.

Voting-age residents are encouraged to take the online “My Voter Page Challenge” at VotingInMontana.com to confirm their registration status, ensure their information is current with their local election office, and check the status of their ballot.

All counties have opted to conduct their primary elections by mail. Traditional polling place locations will not be available on election day, but all county election offices are open now through election day. Election administrators encourage voters to avoid crowds and lines by taking advantage of the many services that can be done through the mail.

Voters should contact their county election administrator if they:

• are on the inactive list;

• did not receive a ballot by May 13; or

• need any additional information about voting.

Montana nominates candidates through an “Open Primary” process. This means voters do not register with a political party. Registered voters will be mailed all-party ballots for their jurisdiction and must choose one party ballot to vote. Across Montana, voters will receive a Democratic, Green, and Republican party ballot. Some voters will also receive a Libertarian party ballot. It is up to the voter to choose one of these party ballots to vote. The voted ballot should be placed in the “ballot secrecy envelope” and returned in the signed return envelope. The remaining party ballots should be disposed of. If a voter returns more than one voted party ballot in their secrecy envelope, those ballots will be rejected and cannot be counted. Through Montana’s secret ballot process, there is no record of which party ballot a voter chooses.