MISSOULA - There are five candidates running for Missoula mayor, and a primary election date coming up fast, there’s a lot of information to keep track of.
One local organization is hoping to make the election process easier for Missoulians.
The League of Women Voters Missoula Chapter created a Vote411 page as a one-stop shop for election information.
They hope this will encourage higher voter turnout in Missoula.
The League of Women Voters is a national organization founded 103 years ago as part of the women’s suffrage movement.
Now, its members continue to educate and empower voters across the country.
“The mission of the League of Women Voters is we are a non-partisan, political organization, and we work to inform and educate the citizens to be involved in public policy issues, but also to get engaged in their local government,” Mary LaPorte, president of the Missoula chapter, says.
The Missoula chapter is the oldest in Montana, celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.
They work with several local organizations, including Montana Women Vote and Forward Montana, to encourage voting in the state.
“All kinds of organizations whose main goal, as ours is, is to get information to the voters and get them out voting,” Barb Holmes-Smith, Missoula chapter treasurer and membership chair, says.
Vote 411 is a voter information website founded in Washington 15 years ago, and the Missoula League of Women Voters decided to bring it to Montana this year.
The site holds a myriad of voting information, including how to register, where to vote, and when to submit a ballot. There’s also information on the ballot counting process and security, how to become a poll worker and where to see results.
“Probably our most important role is to actively engage and encourage citizens to use their power to vote, and then secondly to make sure that vote is counted,” LaPorte says.
The website is localized to the user’s address, so folks can see details about upcoming elections in their area.
For Missoula, the primary election for the mayoral candidate is on Sept. 12, 2023.
Biographies and personal information on each of the five candidates are on Vote411.
The League of Women Voters asked every candidate the same questions and copied their answers word for word to the website.
As a bipartisan group, the league’s main goal is to increase voter turnout, regardless of political leanings.
“I believe that voting is the first and last stop of exercising our rights as citizens in a democratic society,” LaPorte says.
The League of Women Voters will be at the Western Montana Fair on Saturday night near the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center Indigenous Art Show.
They’ll also be in the community for National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 19, 2023.
“Anytime there’s outreach, and we can reach individuals and enlighten them. The Vote411 page, everybody is hooked into their computers, it’s an easy way to find out what you’re voting for,” Holmes-Smith says.
There is a $50 annual fee to become a member of The Missoula League of Women Voters, but they also accept donations.
