HELENA — Montana election officials say a series of mailers may be confusing voters.
It appears that the mailer is targeting registered voters rather than voters who are not currently on the absentee list. This is causing quite a bit of confusion among the electorate as many believe that it originated from county election offices, that they have been dropped from the list, and that they are required to return the form to vote via mail ballot.
Gallatin County has been inundated with calls for the last several days and 100% of the fielded calls are from people already set to receive an absentee ballot on Oct. 9.
According to a press release from Casey Hayes, Gallatin County Election Manager, it is legal for groups to do this and in some instances it is helpful. Unfortunately, in some situations, the wrong audience is targeted and that causes confusion.
Voters' information cannot be withheld from such groups as registration lists are available as public information in accordance with Montana law (13-2-112, MCA). Voters may check their registration and absentee status on the My Voter Page - www.myvoterpagemt.com.
This can be accessed on most county websites, www.votinginmontana.com, or https://sosmt.gov/.
Gallatin County asks that voters attempt to use the online app, but may call 582-3060 if they are unable to do so.
Most Montana counties use the below logo on their envelopes to identify official election mail (registration cards, ballots, etc.). Any correspondence with the logo should be opened immediately. Campaigns, PACs, etc. are not authorized to use this logo and any materials that do not have it most likely are not official government correspondence.
It appears that the mailer is targeting registered voters rather than voters who are NOT currently on the absentee list. This is causing quite a bit of confusion among the electorate as many believe that it originated from county election offices, that they have been dropped from the list, and that they are required to return the form to vote via mail ballot.
