BOZEMAN — MTN is back at the Gallatin County Courthouse as voters continue to line up, and drive up, to drop off their absentee ballots ahead of next week’s election.
"We’re seeing longer lines than we’ve ever seen before leading up to the election," says Gallatin County’s election administrator, Eric Semerad.
He says that over 84% of the county’s active voters received absentee ballots in the mail. And currently, they’ve received almost 60% of these ballots back—either by mail or ballot drop-off.
"One thing is that a lot of voters didn’t get their ballots and that’s why the lines are so long here—people are getting replacement ballots," says Semerad.
Semerad says the department struggled early on to find election volunteers—especially with the new constant counting rule that requires volunteers to work through the night.
"And so how we’re doing that, we did get a grant through the Secretary of State for HAVA funds that allows us to hire additional people to just work that graveyard shift," he says.
As for security, Semerad says there are multiple measures in place to protect ballot boxes and ensure election accuracy.
"Every ballot box is logged and sealed and transported by people who are mixed-party," he says.
On Wednesday, Semerad says they conducted a public test—where 4,600 ballots were sent through tabulators to test accuracy. And after the election comes the post-election audit.
"We will have five precincts and four races or issues, so a total of 20 different races, that we’ll have to hand count on the 15th of November to verify totals that came out of the tabulator," Semerad says.
To check the status of voter registration, find important deadlines, or information on polling locations—visit the election department website.
