MT: Cascade County Elections Office said mail ballots may not be feasible; five elections on horizon
Mail-in ballots may be off the table for upcoming local elections in Cascade County as the Elections Office scrambles under new leadership.
In January, the Secretary of State’s Office approved Cascade County’s mail ballot election plan. However, on March 10, the county elections officer said a poll election would be held instead.
The change caused confusion for several local school districts and the library mill levy slated to be on the ballot, and the path forward still is unclear. The Elections Office said it will be giving a presentation on the plan next week but did not elaborate further.
Friday, Senate Majority Leader Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls, said voters need mail ballots.
“The clerk’s got to figure that out,” Fitzpatrick said Friday.
Newly elected Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant did not respond to a message left with her office on Thursday. The elections staff member said she would pass the request for an interview to Merchant. Friday, the Daily Montanan followed up, and the staff member said Merchant was not in the office.
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/cascade-county-elections-office-said-mail-ballots-may-not-be-feasible-five-elections
