Montana Code 13-2-220. Maintenance of active and inactive voter registration lists for elections — rules by secretary of state
13-2-220. Maintenance of active and inactive voter registration lists for elections — rules by secretary of state. (1) The rules adopted by the secretary of state under 13-2-108 must include the following procedures, at least one of which an election administrator shall follow annually:
Terms Used In Montana Code 13-2-220
- 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
- Elector: means an individual qualified to vote under state law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- General election: means an election that is held for offices that first appear on a primary election ballot, unless the primary is canceled as authorized by law, and that is held on a date specified in 13-1-104. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Inactive list: means a list of inactive electors maintained pursuant to 13-2-220 or 13-19-313. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- 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
(a)compare the entire list of registered electors, including electors on the absentee ballot list, against the national change of address files and provide appropriate confirmation notice to those individuals whose addresses have apparently changed;
(b)mail a nonforwardable, first-class, “return if undeliverable–address correction requested” notice to all registered electors, including electors on the absentee ballot list, of each jurisdiction to confirm their addresses and provide the appropriate confirmation notice to those individuals who return the notices;
(c)mail a targeted mailing to electors, including electors on the absentee ballot list, who failed to vote in the preceding federal general election, applicants who failed to provide required information on registration forms, and provisionally registered electors by:
(i)sending the list of nonvoters a nonforwardable notice, followed by the appropriate forwardable confirmation notice to those electors who appear to have moved from their addresses of record;
(ii)comparing the list of nonvoters against the national change of address files, followed by the appropriate confirmation notices to those electors who appear to have moved from their addresses of record;
(iii)sending forwardable confirmation notices; or
(iv)making a door-to-door canvass.
(2)(a) Any notices returned as undeliverable to the election administrator or any notices to which the elector fails to respond after the election administrator uses the procedures provided in subsection (1) must be followed within 30 days by an appropriate confirmation notice that is a forwardable, first-class, postage-paid, self-addressed, return notice.
(b)If the elector fails to respond within 30 days of the final confirmation notice, after the 30th day, the election administrator shall move the elector to the inactive list and work with the secretary of state’s office and the motor vehicle division in the department of justice to verify the elector’s address.
(c)If the election administrator is not able to verify the elector’s address, the elector must be placed on the inactive list until they follow the procedure in 13-2-222 or 13-2-304, as applicable.
(3)A procedure used by an election administrator pursuant to this section must be completed at least 90 days before a primary or general election for federal office.
(4)An elector’s registration may be reactivated pursuant to 13-2-222 or may be canceled pursuant to 13-2-402.