HELENA — While Montana’s election doesn’t officially end until 8 p.m. Tuesday, for a majority of voters in the state, their role in it is already complete.
As of Sunday night, 395,082 Montanans had returned absentee ballots. That’s 73% of the ballots that were sent out – and already 50% of all registered voters in the state.
On Monday evening, Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen said election officials had received more than 425,000 absentee ballots as of 5 p.m.
“I think people are now comfortable with mailing ballots in and submitting ballots early,” said Jeremy Johnson, an associate professor and chair of Carroll College’s political science department.
The share of residents who’ve already voted varies significantly from county to county. It’s highest in Golden Valley County, where 58% of registered voters had returned ballots by Sunday. In Teton County, 57% had already voted, and in Yellowstone, Valley and Fergus Counties, 56% had.
On the other hand, only 25% of registered voters in Big Horn County had turned in absentee ballots, along with 30% in Roosevelt County and 32% in Richland County.
Statewide turnout has already far surpassed the 311,741 who voted in the June primary – and it’s likely many more ballots will be turned in before the Tuesday deadline. During the 2022 general election, the Montana Secretary of State’s Office reported almost 180,000 more votes on the last Monday and Tuesday.
In 2020, the last presidential election, Montana saw 612,075 votes – 81% of the registered voters in the state. That election was conducted almost entirely by mail during the COVID pandemic.
“Montana always has high voter turnout, but often we see it more in the 70s of eligible voters,” said Johnson. “So this election I expect to have a high turnout; I'm not sure we’ll reach 2020 levels because it's not entirely being done by mail.”
Johnson said Montana had already gone through several election cycles in which voters appeared more willing to vote by mail. He also noted that Republican leaders have put a strong emphasis this year on encouraging their supporters to vote early.
Johnson said the intense spending and heavy campaigning in the hotly contested U.S. Senate race between Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and Republican Tim Sheehy may not make voters happy, but he doesn’t expect it will discourage people from participating.
“It depresses people, but it seems to drive up turnout by having lots and lots of money spent on a race,” he said. “Very, very few people actually will not vote because of being overcontacted.”
Polls will open across the state at 7 a.m., except in some primarily rural polling places that open at noon.
If you still haven’t registered to vote or need to update your registration, Election Day registration will be available on Tuesday, usually at the main county elections office. You can contact your local election administrator to find out where you need to go.
