Lincoln County to hold a mail-in election

Lincoln County officials now plan to hold a mail-in ballot election in November.

Newly appointed Election Administrator Chris Nelson announced the change, which allows residents to vote by mail, absentee ballot, in person and by dropping off a ballot early, on Sept. 4. Nelson said he submitted his plan for a mail-in ballot election to the Office of the Montana Secretary of State that day. State officials signed off on the plan by 3 p.m.

Under Gov. Steve Bullock’s Aug. 6 directive allowing for counties to deviate from a traditional polling process, Sept. 5 was the cut off date to submit a voting by mail plan.

Nelson said he switched plans after county commissioners expressed their preference for a mail-ballot election.

Commissioner Josh Letcher (D-3) said over the weekend that he put his support behind the mail-in ballot plan after seeing colleges and schools close nationwide after spikes in coronavirus cases. Letcher worried that an uptick of cases in Montana might lead Bullock, who is running for Senate, to order another shutdown. That would further complicate the process in counties that stuck by a poll election. Commissioner Mark Peck (D-1) expressed similar concerns on Sept. 7.

Cook Political Report puts Montana, with its three electoral votes, in the “likely Republican” category for the 2020 presidential race. But the state may play an outsized role in shaping the U.S. Senate if voters replace incumbent Republican Steve Daines with Bullock.

Considering the uncertainty of recent months, Letcher said his focus was on making sure everyone had the ability to cast a ballot.

“My goal is to give everybody the ability to vote,” Letcher said.

Of the many residents who have contacted him about election plans, Letcher said there was a roughly even split between those who favored a mail-in ballot election and those who preferred a traditional poll election.

After calling Nelson to voice his preference for the mail-in plan last week, Letcher said Nelson told him Peck and Commissioner Jerry Bennett (D-2) had made similar remarks.

Letcher said he and the other commissioners would be discussing the plan during their upcoming Sept. 9 meeting. This would be the last day that commissioners could opt out of the voting by mail plan.

Nelson cited long lines at polling locations, which could help spread the coronavirus, as among his reasons for supporting a mail-in voting process. He also expressed concern for elderly voters especially susceptible to the virus.

According to the plan, election officials must receive ballots by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. The bulk of the ballots will be mailed to active voters on Oct. 9.

While officials will send voters ballots via mail, the county is required by Bullock’s Aug. 6 directive to give residents the option to vote in-person.

Nelson plans to have at least three polling stations open: one in Troy, Libby and Eureka. Under the plan, the county courthouse will serve as Libby’s polling station while the Kootenai Senior Citizens Center will serve as Troy’s in-person voting location. Residents in the Eureka area will be able to go to the polls at the High Roads Youth Center.

At least three more dropbox locations likely will be available for voters to deposit their mailed ballots in-person. Nelson said these deposit stations would be at the Trego-Fortine-Stryker Volunteer Fire Department building in Fortine, the Upper Yaak Fire Building in Troy and the McCormick School in Troy.

The dropbox locations will be staffed with at least two election officials who can help voters with questions, according to Nelson, but residents will not be able to get their ballots from these stations.

Nelson was unsure how many days the drop off locations would be open.

As of Sept. 4, Nelson said he had around 60 election judges to staff these locations.

To help voters in northern Lincoln County who make an error on their ballots, Nelson said he is insistent on opening a satellite office in the Eureka area.

While Nelson said the equipment needed to run this year’s election properly would come with a hefty price tag, he said grants would cover most of the expenses.

Nelson said a recent lawsuit leveled against Montana by President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and the Republican Party on Sept. 2 aimed at blocking mail-in voting would not likely impact the election plan.

News of the mail-in ballot election came just a week after commissioners said they would hold a traditional election where residents can only vote either at the polls or via absentee ballots.

That decision itself marked a shift in plans. Leigh Riggleman, former election administrator, proposed a mail ballot election on Aug. 12.