13-13-246. Electronic ballots for disabled persons — procedures — definition — rulemaking. (1) (a) Upon a written or an in-person request from a legally registered or provisionally registered elector with a disability, an election administrator shall provide the elector with an electronic ballot.

Terms Used In Montana Code 13-13-246

  • 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
  • Disability: means a temporary or permanent mental or physical impairment such as:

    (a)impaired vision;

    (b)impaired hearing;

    (c)impaired mobility. 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
  • Election official: means an election administrator, election deputy, or election judge. See Montana Code 13-1-101
  • Elector: means an individual qualified to vote under state law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
  • 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
  • Voted ballot: means a ballot that is:

    (a)deposited in the ballot box at a polling place;

    (b)received at the election administrator's office; or

    (c)returned to a place of deposit. See Montana Code 13-1-101

(b)The request may be made by electronic mail.

(2)(a) After receiving a request and verifying that the elector is legally registered or provisionally registered, the election administrator shall provide to the elector an electronic ballot, instructions for completing the ballot, a secrecy envelope or page, and a transmittal cover sheet that includes an elector affirmation. If the elector is provisionally registered, the election administrator shall include instructions about what information the elector shall include with the voted ballot pursuant to 13-13-201(4).

(b)The election administrator shall maintain an official log of all ballots provided pursuant to this section.

(c)After voting the ballot, the elector shall print the ballot, place it in the secrecy envelope or under the secrecy page, sign the affirmation, including by fingerprint, mark, or agent pursuant to 13-1-116, or provide a driver’s license number or the last four digits of the elector’s social security number. If the elector is provisionally registered, the elector shall also return sufficient voter identification and eligibility information to allow the election administrator to determine pursuant to rules adopted under 13-2-109 that the elector is legally registered. The elector shall return the voted ballot and affirmation in a manner that ensures both are received by 8 p.m. on election day.

(d)An elector may return the voted ballot and affirmation in the regular mail provided they are received at the office of the election administrator by 8 p.m. on election day. A valid ballot must be counted if it is received at the office of the election administrator by 8 p.m. on election day.

(3)After receiving a ballot and secrecy envelope and if the validity of the ballot is confirmed pursuant to 13-13-241, the election administrator shall log the receipt of the ballot and process it as required in Title 13, chapter 13. If the ballot is rejected, the election administrator shall notify the elector pursuant to 13-13-245.

(4)(a) When performing the procedures prescribed in 13-13-241(7) to open secrecy envelopes, an election official shall place in a secure absentee ballot envelope any ballot returned pursuant to this section that requires transcription. No sooner than the time provided in 13-13-241(7), the election administrator shall transcribe the returned ballots using the procedure prescribed below and in accordance with any rules established by the secretary of state to ensure the security of the ballots and the secrecy of the votes.

(b)No fewer than three election officials shall participate in the transcription process to transfer the elector’s vote from the received ballot to the standard ballot used in the precinct.

(c)A number must be written on the secrecy envelope or page that contains the original voted electronic ballot, and the same number must be placed on the transcribed ballot and in the official log.

(d)The election officials who transcribed the original voted electronic ballot shall sign the log next to the number.

(e)No one participating in the ballot transmission process may reveal any information about the ballot.

(5)The secretary of state shall adopt rules to implement and administer this section, including rules to ensure the security of the ballots and the secrecy of the votes.

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