MISSOULA - Tuesday's school election went smoothly according to Missoula County Elections administrator Bradley Seaman, with about 40% voter turnout.
It was a night that could not have been possible without all of the staff involved. But Seaman notes a new law will soon make it illegal to pause counting, which means the people counting will have to continue until they are finished -- even if it takes them all night.
“It is all about the community coming together to support elections. We are so fortunate in Missoula County that we've been able to really recruit and train great election judges,” Seaman told MTN News. “We're one of the few communities that has been successful in training and recruiting enough judges.”
“We've had some law changes that may make that hard next year, meeting to run all continuously until we get every ballot counted. But that's where we're going to reach out to those lawmakers who put together this bill,” Seaman continued. “We're going to reach out to our community and say help support us."
The law is not in effect for this election, but Seaman says they took this as a chance to practice.
Seaman points out that the results from the May 2, 2023, election are not final until schools do their canvassing later this month.
