Montana Code 13-17-101. Secretary of state to approve voting systems
13-17-101. Secretary of state to approve voting systems. (1) A voting system may not be used for any election in this state unless the system is approved by the secretary of state as provided in this section.
Terms Used In Montana Code 13-17-101
- 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
- School election: has the meaning provided in 20-1-101. 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
- system: means any machine, device, technology, or equipment used to automatically record, tabulate, or process the vote of an elector cast on a paper ballot. See Montana Code 13-1-101
(2)The secretary of state shall:
(a)examine a voting system proposed for use to determine if it complies with the requirements of 13-17-103;
(b)within 30 days after examining the voting system, file a report of the examination in the secretary of state’s office;
(c)include in the report the reasons for the voting system’s approval or disapproval and the secretary of state’s opinion about the economic and procedural impact that the voting system’s use or nonuse may have on the various counties of this state; and
(d)within 5 days after filing the report, transmit to each election administrator, including school election administrators for elections under Title 20, chapter 20, a copy of the report.
(3)Voting systems may not be used in an election unless approved by the secretary of state 60 days or more prior to the election at which they will be used.