13-13-214. Mailing absentee ballot to elector — delivery to person other than elector. (1) (a) Except as provided in 13-13-213 and in subsection (1)(c) of this section, the election administrator shall mail, postage prepaid, to each legally registered elector and provisionally registered elector from whom the election administrator has received a valid absentee ballot application under 13-13-211 and 13-13-212 whatever official ballots are necessary in a manner that conforms to postal regulations to require the return rather than forwarding of ballots.

Terms Used In Montana Code 13-13-214

  • 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
  • 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 administrator: means , except as provided in subsection (14)(b), the county clerk and recorder or the individual designated by a county governing body to be responsible for all election administration duties, except that with regard to school elections not administered by the county, the term means the school district clerk. See Montana Code 13-1-101
  • Elector: means an individual qualified to vote under state law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
  • Individual: means a human being. See Montana Code 13-1-101
  • issue: means a proposal submitted to the people at an election for their approval or rejection, including but not limited to an initiative, referendum, proposed constitutional amendment, recall question, school levy question, bond issue question, or ballot question. See Montana Code 13-1-101
  • Legally registered elector: means an individual whose application for voter registration was accepted, processed, and verified as provided by law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
  • 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
  • Provisionally registered elector: means an individual whose application for voter registration was accepted but whose identity or eligibility has not yet been verified as provided by law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
  • Signature envelope: means an envelope that contains a secrecy envelope and ballot and that is designed to:

    (a)allow election officials, upon examination of the outside of the envelope, to determine that the ballot is being submitted by someone who is in fact a qualified elector and who has not already voted; and

    (b)allow it to be used in the United States mail. See Montana Code 13-1-101

  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203

(b)The election administrator shall mail the ballots in a manner that conforms to the deadlines established for ballot availability in 13-13-205.

(c)The election administrator may deliver a ballot in person to an individual other than the elector if:

(i)the elector has designated the individual, either by a signed letter or by making the designation on the application form in a manner prescribed by the secretary of state or pursuant to 13-1-116;

(ii)the individual taking delivery of the ballot on behalf of the elector verifies, by signature, receipt of the ballot;

(iii)the election administrator believes that the individual receiving the ballot is the designated person; and

(iv)the designated person has not previously picked up ballots for four other electors.

(2)The election administrator shall enclose with the ballots:

(a)a secrecy envelope, free of any marks that would identify the voter; and

(b)a signature envelope for the return of the ballot. The signature envelope must be self-addressed by the election administrator and an affirmation in the form prescribed by the secretary of state must be printed on the back of the signature envelope.

(3)The election administrator shall ensure that the ballots provided to an absentee elector are marked as provided in 13-13-116 and shall remove the stubs from the ballots, keeping the stubs in numerical order with the application for absentee ballots, if applicable, or in a precinct envelope or container for that purpose.

(4)Instructions for voting must be enclosed with the ballots. Instructions for primary elections must include disposal instructions for unvoted ballots. The instructions must include information concerning the type or types of writing instruments that may be used to mark the absentee ballot. The instructions must include information regarding use of the secrecy envelope and use of the signature envelope. The election administrator shall include a voter information pamphlet with the instructions if:

(a)a statewide ballot issue appears on the ballot mailed to the elector; and

(b)the elector requests a voter information pamphlet.

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