Montana Code 13-13-241. Examination of absentee ballot signature envelopes — deposit of absentee and unvoted ballots — rulemaking
13-13-241. Examination of absentee ballot signature envelopes — deposit of absentee and unvoted ballots — rulemaking. (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.
Terms Used In Montana Code 13-13-241
- Ballot: means a paper ballot counted manually or a paper ballot counted by a machine, such as an optical scan system or other technology that automatically tabulates votes cast by processing the paper ballots. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Election: means a general, special, or primary election held pursuant to the requirements of state law, regardless of the time or purpose. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Election administrator: means , except as provided in subsection (14)(b), the county clerk and recorder or the individual designated by a county governing body to be responsible for all election administration duties, except that with regard to school elections not administered by the county, the term means the school district clerk. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Election judge: means a person who is appointed pursuant to Title 13, chapter 4, part 1, to perform duties as specified by law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Election official: means an election administrator, election deputy, or election judge. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Elector: means an individual qualified to vote under state law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- primary election: means an election held on a date specified in 13-1-107 to nominate candidates for offices filled at a general election. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
- Provisional ballot: means a ballot cast by an elector whose identity or eligibility to vote has not been verified as provided by law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Signature envelope: means an envelope that contains a secrecy envelope and ballot and that is designed to:
(a)allow election officials, upon examination of the outside of the envelope, to determine that the ballot is being submitted by someone who is in fact a qualified elector and who has not already voted; and
(b)allow it to be used in the United States mail. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- system: means any machine, device, technology, or equipment used to automatically record, tabulate, or process the vote of an elector cast on a paper ballot. See Montana Code 13-1-101
(b)If the elector is legally registered and the signature on the signature envelope matches the signature on the absentee ballot application or on the elector’s voter registration form, the election administrator or an election judge shall handle the ballot as a regular ballot.
(c)(i) If the elector is provisionally registered and the signature on the signature envelope matches the signature on the absentee ballot application or on the elector’s voter registration form, the election administrator or an election judge shall open the outer signature envelope and determine whether the elector’s voter identification and eligibility information, if enclosed pursuant to 13-13-201, is sufficient pursuant to rules adopted under 13-2-109 to legally register the elector.
(ii)If the voter identification and eligibility information is sufficient to legally register the elector, the ballot must be handled as a regular ballot.
(iii)If voter identification or eligibility information was not enclosed or the information enclosed is insufficient to legally register the elector, the ballot must be handled as a provisional ballot under 13-15-107.
(2)If a voted absentee ballot has not been placed in a secrecy envelope, the election administrator shall place the ballot in a secrecy envelope without examining the ballot.
(3)In a primary election, if unvoted party ballots are returned by a voter, they must be separated and handled pursuant to 13-1-303 and 13-12-202.
(4)If an elector’s ballot is to be handled as a provisional ballot, the election administrator shall notify the absentee elector as provided in 13-13-245.
(5)If the signature on the absentee ballot signature envelope does not match the signature on the absentee ballot request form or on the elector’s voter registration form or if there is no signature on the absentee ballot signature envelope, the election administrator shall notify the elector as provided in 13-13-245.
(6)If at any point there is a question concerning the validity of a particular ballot, the question must be resolved as provided in 13-13-245.
(7)(a) Except as provided in subsection (8), after receiving an absentee ballot secrecy envelope and if the validity of the ballot is confirmed pursuant to 13-13-245, then no sooner than 3 business days before election day, the election official may open the secrecy envelope and place the ballot in the proper, secured ballot box until tabulation occurs. Automatic tabulation using a vote-counting machine may not begin sooner than 1 day before election day. Tabulation using a manual count may not begin until election day.
(b)An election official may not conduct the process described in subsection (7)(a) on a Saturday or a Sunday.
(c)Ballot preparation as described in this subsection (7) is open to the public. Tabulation is open to the public as provided in 13-15-101.
(d)Access to an electronic system containing early tabulation results is limited to the election administrator and the election administrator’s designee. Results may not be released except as provided in 13-35-241.
(8)For a county with fewer than 8,000 registered electors or fewer than 5,000 absentee electors at the close of regular registration, the ballot preparation process described in subsection (7)(a) may not begin sooner than 1 business day before election day.
(9)The election administrator shall safely and securely keep the absentee ballots in the election administrator’s office until delivered by the election administrator to the election judges.
(10)The secretary of state shall develop administrative rules to establish the process and procedures to be used during the early preparation of ballots to ensure the security of the ballots and the secrecy of the votes during the early preparation period. The rules must include but are not limited to:
(a)the allowable distance from the observers to the judges and ballots;
(b)the security in the observation area;
(c)secrecy of votes during the preparation of the ballots; and
(d)security of the secured ballot boxes in storage until tabulation procedures begin.