BILLINGS — The Montana Secretary of State's office is sending out postcards, which prominently feature President Donald Trump, to residents announcing a new election security program.
The announcement comes after Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, a Republican, agreed to make Montana part of the SAVE Act, which is a federal bill giving elections administrators access to a database that will help insure all voters are US citizens.
Click here to learn how the new bill will affect voters:
"Only citizens should be on our voter rolls and only citizens should be voting," Jacobsen said Wednesday afternoon. "I have an obligation in my role to make sure that is the case, and that's what this aims to do."
Jacobsen said that the new bill won't affect the way voters register.
"It's not an obstacle at all," Jacobsen said. "It doesn’t change any of the voter registration process at all. It just, on our end, it’s going to give elections officials across the state to check that information.”
Still, some are saying that the change is unnecessary. MSU Billings Political Science Professor Paul Pope said that it's an insignificant problem.
“There’s always going to be voter fraud with every election, but it is so tiny because our system works so well,” Pope said.
Pope argues that elections officials are already able to review that type of voter information and that making voter fraud claims adds to a growing divide.
"It’s all about fueling outrage, and most of the time it’s completely unnecessary," Pope said. "Humans have a negative psychological disposition. We tend to react far more off of negative news than off of positive news."
That divide could be felt on the streets of downtown Billings on Wednesday. MTN spoke with two residents, James Stearns and Julie Hippler, who each shared different views about the new program.
"I think it's a waste of taxpayer money," Hippler said. "I think it's a ridiculous concept."
Hippler agreed with Pope and said that it's an issue so small that it doesn't need that much focus.
"I just think it's not an issue that we have in this country," Hippler said. "What's the incidents of election fraud in our nation? It's less than one percent. It just makes it harder for people who are more progressive to vote."
Stearns said that he believes the program makes sense and will help keep elections fair.
"If you can't show ID, maybe you shouldn't vote," Stearns said. "To me, it goes back to relative common sense."
Stearns said that identification is asked for basically everything these days, and that elections shouldn't be any different.
"They're simply asking that if you're going to vote in an election, we know who you are," Stearns said. "I think it's a way to actually make sure an election is fair."
Jacobsen said that other states are choosing whether to be a part of the SAVE act. This fall's election will be the first time it's used, when Montanans will be voting on two U.S. House seats and one U.S. Senate seat.
