GREAT FALLS — Did the Montana Secretary of State (SOS) fail to include a candidate on the ballot for the November 2024 election?
According to a news release from the SOS office - no.
In response to several reports that Vice-President Kamala Harris was not on the Montana ballot, MTN News contacted the SOS office on Monday for answers.
The agency replied that Harris and all certified candidates appear on Montana's ballots (as shown in the sample ballot screenshot above), and as voters will see on their own sample ballots in the very near future.
In a news release, the SOS office said:
Contrary to egregious misinformation campaigns circulating online, the Montana Secretary of State's Office certified all qualified candidates to appear on its 2024 General Election ballot on August 22. A list of certified candidates can be found online at VoteMT.gov.
The 2024 General Election officially began on Friday for eligible voters covered under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).
Shortly after going live at 8 a.m., election officials were notified about Montana's Electronic Absentee System (EAS), which is the system exclusively used by a small number of eligible UOCAVA (e.g. Military serving abroad and overseas citizens) voters to access and mark their ballot. The Secretary of State's Office took the EAS offline while working with the vendor until troubleshooting was completed. By Friday afternoon, the system was back online and available to eligible UOCAVA voters, including those few voters who may have been impacted.
No ballots were affected, including those that will be sent to registered absentee voters and those that will be presented to voters at the polling place on Election Day.
As always, voters should rely on Montana's trusted sources for credible election information, including the Secretary of State's Office and the state's 56 county election offices.
The Secretary of State's Office appreciates the vendor's quick troubleshooting and resolution. The Montana Elections Team is grateful to our Montana military members serving abroad, and we're honored to serve them, their families, and overseas citizens.
Here is a screenshot of the names on the ballot:
The list of certified Presidential candidates on the Montana ballot are:
- Donald J. Trump - Republican
- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. - We The People
- Kamala D. Harris - Democrat
- Chase Oliver - Libertarian
- Jill Stein - Green
The 2024 election is on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Click here to visit the SOS website for more information about voting in Montana.
