Wrong Ballots Arrive For Some Glasgow Residents

It was May 11, primary ballots had just arrived, and Kevin Taylor was looking forward to voting for his candidate of choice in the Montana HD 33 representative race, but there was a problem. Taylor's preferred candidate was not on his ballot. Figuring he must have gotten a state-wide ballot and would later get the local ballot he filled out his votes and returned it by mail.

Then he talked to Valley County Republican Central Committee Chair Sara Swanson about the vote, asking if he would see his candidate's name on a future ballot. Swanson explained that he should have seen the name on this ballot. He went back and checked the leftover Democratic ballot and confirmed it read HD 34. The problem was, he lives in HD 33.

Taylor went to the Clerk and Recorders Office at the Valley County Courthouse on May 12 and pointed out the error. They pushed back on the idea that he was sent the wrong ballot. Taylor said they showed him an unreadable map and gave him a narrative description of the boundaries that was hard to follow. He left, but undeterred, he returned later that same day armed with maps and information from the state's Secretary of State website to have the Clerk and Recorder tell him that they were now looking into the mistake.

"I hate when people tell me I'm wrong," said Taylor, about the initial response from the Clerk and Recorder Taryn Aberg. "I guess I'm not really overly impressed."

The Courier had called moments earlier to Taylor's second visit, and was given the same response by Aberg. No other details were provided on May 12, and she would not say whether the ballot had been wrongly mailed or even whether the address was in Precinct 33 or 34 at that time.

Aberg's office released a statement on May 13, confirming that the wrong ballots had been mailed to 56 voters on Glasgow's western end. The statement also referred to a "systemic" error" but when asked how far back the issue goes, Aberg responded via email saying, "Not at this time. Our main focus is getting the issue resolved for the current Election."

The current precinct boundaries were implemented and approved by Montana Legislative Services and have been in use since 2013.

Taylor responded to the news that the county had acknowledged the error after pushing back against his initial complaint, stating, "They haven't acknowledged anything to me yet."

He was also dismayed by the idea that the voters could have made a difference in past elections. "One person isn't a big deal," said Taylor, "but this is a big deal. [Fifty-six voters] could easily sway an election in Valley County."

The Clerk and Recorder's statement finished off saying, "The impacted voters will be contacted directly by the Valley County Election Office and issued a corrected ballot. None of the ballots have been counted at this time, and the issue will have no effect on the validity of the primary election."

Swanson, the Republican Chair, discussed the ballot issues saying, "I think it's really important that we remind everyone that election integrity is the cornerstone of our democracy." She went on to say that she was concerned about Taylor's situation but was glad to hear that the county acknowledged the issue and is taking corrective action. Swanson also said she was eager to hear how far back the error goes and whether it impacted any previous elections.