Title 13, Title 13

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the election administrator shall ensure that ballots for a polling place election are available as follows: (a) for an election conducted on a primary or general election day: (i) 30 days prior to election day for absentee voting in perso…

(1) Except as provided in 13-13-222, 13-21-223, and subsection (2) of this section, an application for an absentee ballot must be made before noon on the day before the election. (2) A qualified elector who is prevented from voting at the polls as a result of illness or health em…

(1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b), an elector may apply for an absentee ballot by using a standard application form provided by rule by the secretary of state pursuant to 13-1-210 or by making a written request, which must include the applicant's birth date and must…

(1) All absentee ballot application forms must be addressed to the appropriate county election office. (2) Except as provided in subsection (4), the elector may mail the signed application directly to the election administrator or deliver the application in person to the election…

(1) (a) Except as provided in 13-13-213 and in subsection (1)(c) of this section, the election administrator shall mail, postage prepaid, to each legally registered elector and provisionally registered elector from whom the election administrator has received a valid absentee bal…

(1) As soon as the official ballots are available for in-person absentee voting under 13-13-205(1)(a)(i), the election administrator shall permit an elector to apply for, receive, and mark an absentee ballot before election day by appearing in person at the office of the election…

(1) The election administrator may designate and appoint absentee election boards as needed or authorize one or more election officials to serve in various places to deliver ballots to electors who are entitled to vote by absentee ballot as provided in 13-13-229. (2) In a partisa…

The election administrator may make appointments to an absentee election board from lists of qualified electors in the county prepared in substantially the same manner as provided in 13-4-102. The election administrator may refuse for cause to appoint or may for cause remove a me…

Before assuming any of the responsibilities under this part, each member of an absentee election board shall take and subscribe the official oath in the same manner as prescribed for an election judge in 13-4-105.

(1) Each member of an absentee election board is entitled to compensation for the number of hours worked. (2) Each member of an absentee election board is entitled to full reimbursement for actual travel expenses incurred while delivering ballots on election day. (3) The election…

(1) Pursuant to 13-13-212(2), the elector may request that an absentee election board or an authorized election official personally deliver a ballot to the elector. (2) The manner and procedure of voting by use of an absentee ballot under this section must be the same as provided…

(1) If an absentee ballot is received prior to delivery of the official ballots to the election judges, the election administrator shall process it according to 13-13-241 and then, unless the early preparation process in 13-13-241(8) was followed, deliver the unopened secrecy env…

(1) Absentee ballots must be official numbered paper ballots beginning with ballot number 1 and following consecutively according to the number of applications for absentee ballots. (2) The election administrator shall keep a record of all absentee ballots issued. (3) The electio…

(1) The election judges, at the opening of the polls, shall: (a) note on the pollbook opposite the appropriate ballot numbers the fact that the ballots were issued as absentee ballots; and (b) reserve the numbers for electors who may vote late under 13-13-211(2). (2) The election…

(1) (a) Upon receipt of each absentee ballot signature envelope, an election administrator shall compare the signature of the elector or elector's agent on the absentee ballot request or on the elector's voter registration form with the signature on the signature envelope and sha…

If a signature envelope containing an absentee ballot has been deposited unopened in the ballot box and the envelope has not been marked rejected, the signature envelope must be processed as provided in 13-13-241.

(1) As soon as possible after receipt of an elector's absentee ballot application or signature envelope, the election administrator shall give notice to the elector by the most expedient method available if the election administrator determines that: (a) the elector's ballot is t…

(1) (a) Upon a written or an in-person request from a legally registered or provisionally registered elector with a disability, an election administrator shall provide the elector with an electronic ballot. (b) The request may be made by electronic mail. (2) (a) After receiving a…

A provision of this chapter may not be interpreted to conflict with Title 13, chapter 21.

(1) An elector's right to vote may be challenged at any time by any registered elector by the challenger filling out and signing an affidavit stating the grounds of the challenge and providing any evidence supporting the challenge to the election administrator or, on election day…

(1) Before being given a ballot, an elector casting a provisional ballot: (a) must be given information, in a form prescribed by the secretary of state, explaining how to vote provisionally, what information must be provided by the elector to verify the elector's eligibility, and…

(1) To ensure the election administrator has information sufficient to determine the elector's eligibility to vote, an elector voting by mail may enclose in the outer signature envelope, together with the voted ballot in the secrecy envelope: (a) a Montana driver's license number…

(1) The secretary of state shall adopt rules to: (a) implement the provisions of 13-13-114 and this part concerning verification of voter identification and eligibility; (b) establish standards for determining the sufficiency of information provided on absentee ballot signature e…

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, candidates for nonpartisan offices, including judicial offices, must be nominated and elected according to the provisions of this title.

(1) Nonpartisan candidates shall file declarations for nomination as required by the primary election laws in a form prescribed by the secretary of state except as provided in 13-14-113. Except for a candidate covered under 7-1-205, a candidate may not file for more than one publ…

(1) Candidates for nonpartisan offices for which a salary or fees are not paid shall file with the appropriate official a petition for nomination or a declaration for nomination containing the information and the oath of the candidate required for a declaration of nomination in a…

On receipt of a declaration or petition, the secretary of state or election administrator shall, if a register is kept, make an entry in the register of candidates for nomination, on a page different from entries made for candidates of political parties.

(1) The election administrators shall arrange, prepare, and distribute primary ballots for nonpartisan offices, designated "nonpartisan primary ballots". The ballots must be arranged and prepared as provided in 13-10-209 and be without political designation. (2) (a) Except as pro…

Nonpartisan ballots must be counted and canvassed as provided for in chapter 15.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the two candidates for nomination to an office who receive the highest number of votes cast at the primary are the nominees for the office and qualify to have their names placed on the general election ballot. (2) If, pursuant to 13-14-11…

(1) If after the primary election and before the 85th day before the general election a candidate is not able to run for the office for any reason, the vacancy must be filled by the candidate next in rank in number of votes received in the primary election. (2) If a vacancy for a…

(1) Each vacancy for justice of the supreme court is a separate and independent office for election purposes. The chief justice of the supreme court shall assign an individual number to the justices and certify these numbers to the office of the secretary of state. (2) Each vacan…

(1) If the incumbent is the only candidate for the office of chief justice, supreme court justice, district court judge, or justice of the peace, the election administrator may not include a nonpartisan designation or write-in space for the office on the general election ballot. …

The election administrator or secretary of state shall use the form prescribed in 13-14-212 to place the name of an unopposed incumbent for a judicial office on the general election ballot if such office is subject to the provisions of Article VII, Section 8, of The Constitution …

(1) (a) Any official vote count must be open to public observation, including but not limited to resolution and counting areas. (b) Counties that perform tabulation using a vote-counting machine on the day prior to the election shall continue until all available ballots that can …

No declaration of an election result, commission, or certificate shall be withheld because of a defect or informality in the returns of any election if it can be determined with reasonable certainty the office intended and the person elected.

(1) The election administrator shall: (a) give special instructions to any absentee ballot counting board appointed under 13-15-112 on the proper procedures for counting the absentee ballots; and (b) provide the forms and supplies necessary for the board to perform its duties. (2…

(1) Not more than 12 days or less than 2 days before an election, the election administrator shall broadcast on radio or television, as provided in 2-3-105 through 2-3-107, or publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the county a notice indicating the method that will be …

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) or (3), an absentee ballot voted for a candidate who dies after printing of the ballot but before the election must be counted for the deceased candidate. (2) A vote for a deceased candidate for governor must be counted as a vote for the l…

(1) To verify eligibility to vote, a provisionally registered individual who casts a provisional ballot has until 5 p.m. on the day after the election to provide valid identification or eligibility information either in person, by facsimile, by electronic means, or by mail postma…

(1) All rejected absentee ballots, the absentee ballot applications, and all absentee ballot signature envelopes must be handled and marked as provided under rules adopted by the secretary of state. (2) After being handled and marked as provided in this section, all rejected ball…

(1) An individual elected by having the individual's name written in at the general election and receiving the largest number of votes counted as provided in 13-15-206(5) shall: (a) file with the secretary of state or election administrator, not later than 10 days after the offic…

To count votes in any election under this title, when election judges are appointed under 13-4-101, each county's governing body shall designate one or more groups of three of the election judges to act as counting boards. The governing body may also designate one or more groups …

(1) For an election subject to a statewide canvass as provided in part 5 of this chapter, after the vote count procedures provided in 13-15-101 are completed and before the canvass required in 13-15-401 begins, the secretary of state shall design a reconciliation spreadsheet for …

(1) Subject to 13-10-311, to prepare for a count of ballots, the counting board or, if appointed, the absentee counting board shall take ballots out of the box to determine whether each ballot is single. (2) The board shall count all ballots to ensure that the total number of bal…

Immediately after the votes are counted and the ballots sealed, the pollbook must be signed and certified to by the election judges in a form prescribed by the secretary of state.