13-21-222. Methods of applying for military-overseas ballot. (1) A covered voter who is registered to vote in this state may apply for a military-overseas ballot:

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Terms Used In Montana Code 13-21-222

  • 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
  • Covered voter: means :

    (a)a uniformed-service voter or an overseas voter who is registered to vote in Montana;

    (b)a uniformed-service voter whose voting residence is in Montana and who otherwise satisfies Montana's voter eligibility requirements;

    (c)an overseas voter who, before leaving the United States, was last eligible to vote in Montana and, except for a state residency requirement, otherwise satisfies Montana's voter eligibility requirements;

    (d)an overseas voter who, before leaving the United States, would have been last eligible to vote in Montana had the voter then been of voting age and, except for a state residency requirement, otherwise satisfies Montana's voter eligibility requirements. See Montana Code 13-21-102

  • 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 official: means an election administrator, election deputy, or election judge. See Montana Code 13-1-101
  • Federal postcard application: means the application prescribed under section 101(b)(2) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 52 U. See Montana Code 13-21-102
  • Federal write-in absentee ballot: means the ballot described in section 103 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 52 U. See Montana Code 13-21-102
  • 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.
  • Military-overseas ballot: means :

    (a)a federal write-in absentee ballot;

    (b)an absentee ballot specifically prepared or distributed for use by a covered voter in accordance with this chapter; or

    (c)a ballot cast by a covered voter in accordance with this chapter. See Montana Code 13-21-102

  • Overseas voter: means a United States citizen who resides outside the United States who would otherwise be qualified to vote in the last place in which the person was domiciled before leaving the United States. See Montana Code 13-21-102
  • Person: means an individual, corporation, association, firm, partnership, cooperative, committee, including a political committee, club, union, or other organization or group of individuals or a candidate as defined in subsection (8). See Montana Code 13-1-101
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Montana Code 13-21-102
  • 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
  • Uniformed-service voter: means an individual who is qualified to vote and is:

    (a)a member of the active or reserve components of the army, marine corps, navy, air force, space force, or coast guard of the United States who is on active duty;

    (b)a member of the merchant marine, the commissioned corps of the public health service, or the commissioned corps of the national oceanic and atmospheric administration of the United States;

    (c)a member of the national guard or state militia in activated status; or

    (d)a spouse or dependent of a member referred to in this subsection (10). See Montana Code 13-21-102

  • Voter registration application: means the form approved by the secretary of state that an elector may use to register to vote in Montana. See Montana Code 13-21-102

(a)using either the regular absentee ballot application in use in the voter’s jurisdiction under 13-13-212 or the federal postcard application or the application’s electronic equivalent;

(b)by making a written request, which must include the voter’s birth date and signature; or

(c)by making an electronic request that includes the voter’s birth date and affirmation of the voter’s eligibility to vote under the Montana Absent Uniformed Services and Overseas Voter Act.

(2)A person who holds a power of attorney from a uniformed-service voter may apply for an absentee ballot for that election on behalf of the uniformed-service voter. The applicant shall provide a copy of the power of attorney authorizing the request for an absentee ballot along with the application.

(3)A covered voter who is not registered to vote in Montana may use a federal postcard application or the application’s electronic equivalent to apply simultaneously to register to vote under 13-21-221 and for a military-overseas ballot.

(4)The secretary of state shall ensure that the electronic transmission system described in 13-21-106(3) is capable of accepting the submission of a federal postcard application. The voter may use the electronic transmission system or any other approved method to apply for a military-overseas ballot.

(5)A covered voter may use the declaration accompanying a federal write-in absentee ballot as an application for a military-overseas ballot simultaneously with the submission of the federal write-in absentee ballot if the declaration is received by the appropriate election official within the time period required by this chapter.

(6)An application from a covered voter who applies for a ballot under this section is considered a request for an absentee ballot for all elections held through December 31 of the year following the calendar year of application or for a shorter period if requested by the covered voter.

(7)To receive the benefits of this chapter, a covered voter shall inform the appropriate election official that the voter is a covered voter. Methods of informing the appropriate election official that a voter is a covered voter include:

(a)the use of a federal postcard application or federal write-in absentee ballot;

(b)the use of an overseas address on an approved voter registration application or ballot application; and

(c)the inclusion on an approved voter registration application or ballot application or other information sufficient to identify the voter as a covered voter.

(8)This section does not preclude a covered voter from voting under Title 13, chapter 13, part 2.