Montana Code 13-19-205. Written plan for conduct of election — amendments — approval procedures
13-19-205. Written plan for conduct of election — amendments — approval procedures. (1) The election administrator shall prepare a written plan for the conduct of each election to be conducted by mail and shall submit the plan to the secretary of state in a manner that ensures that it is received at least 60 days prior to the date set for the election. There must be a separate plan for each type of election held even if held on the same day.
Terms Used In Montana Code 13-19-205
- Ballot: means the ballot or set of ballots that is to be returned by a specified election day. See Montana Code 13-19-102
- 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
- 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
(2)The written plan must include:
(a)a timetable for the election;
(b)a plan for providing voter interface devices as required in 13-3-208; and
(c)sample written instructions that will be sent to the electors. The instructions must include but are not limited to:
(i)information on the estimated amount of postage required to return the ballot;
(ii)(A) the location of the places of deposit and the days and times when ballots may be returned to the places of deposit, if the information is available; or
(B)if the information on location and hours of places of deposit is not available, a section that will allow the information to be added before the instructions are mailed to electors; and
(iii)any applicable instructions specified under 13-13-214(4).
(3)The plan may be amended by the election administrator at any time prior to the 35th day before election day by notifying the secretary of state in writing of any changes.
(4)Within 5 days of receiving the plan and as soon as possible after receiving any amendments, the secretary of state shall approve, disapprove, or recommend changes to the plan or amendments.
(5)When the written plan and any amendments have been approved, the election administrator shall proceed to conduct the election according to the approved plan unless the election is cancelled for any reason provided by law.