BILLINGS — If you don’t like any of the candidates on the ballot this November, you have the choice of writing in your own. But you better make sure that candidate is a registered write-in candidate, or your vote won’t count.
It’s rare that a write-in candidate will make much noise in larger, statewide races, such as races for the U.S. Senate or governor. However, in smaller local jurisdictions, such as school boards that don’t attract many candidates, a write-in can take office.
A new Montana law requires all write-in candidates to register as such with the Secretary of State’s Office or else any vote they receive won’t be counted. In the past, write-in candidates weren’t required to register for races that had no candidates appearing on the ballot.
“Previously, the situation in which you would have counted a write-in is basically if there’s no other candidate in the race who filed,” said Yellowstone County Elections Administrator Ginger Aldrich.
Aldrich said that with the new protocol it should streamline the process with her employees.
“We’re able to tell voters, ‘Hey look, these aren’t registered write-in candidates, so these votes, we aren’t going to be looking at them,” Aldrich said. “People are certainly free to write whatever they like on the write-in line, but we’re not going to be looking at those names unless they are filed write-ins.”
There are already write-in candidates who have filed for this year’s election. The Eastern Montana Congressional Race features two: Democrat Reilly Neill and Independent John Metzger.
Neill said she’s running to try and re-energize eastern Montana Democrats.
“A lot of my race now has evolved into becoming that top ticket candidate for the Democratic party,” Neill said. “No matter if a district is winnable or not, the people of that district deserve representation.”
Neil said that the registration process was extensive and included providing the Secretary of State’s office with 100 iterations of how to spell her name. She also paid a fee with the Federal Election Commission, which allows her to raise money for her campaign.
“You put all your general information there, and then there is a large section for all the different potential spellings of your name,” Neill said.
The June primary elections were the first ones that had this new ruling in place. There were a total of 10,833 write-in votes that were not counted in Yellowstone County, many of which coming in elections that have no candidate. In years past, those write-in votes would have been counted to determine who won the seat.
That’s why the Election’s Office is hoping residents are aware of the changes — with a big November of decisions coming up.
“Inform yourselves, read about the people who want the office and make an informed decision,” Aldrich said.
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Publish date : 2024-09-19 15:33:00
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