Montana Code 13-21-104. Adoption of rules on electronic registration and voting — acceptance of funds
13-21-104. Adoption of rules on electronic registration and voting — acceptance of funds. (1) The secretary of state shall adopt reasonable rules under the rulemaking provisions of the Montana Administrative Procedure Act to implement this chapter. The rules are binding upon election administrators.
Terms Used In Montana Code 13-21-104
- 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
- Covered voter: means :
(a)a uniformed-service voter or an overseas voter who is registered to vote in Montana;
(b)a uniformed-service voter whose voting residence is in Montana and who otherwise satisfies Montana's voter eligibility requirements;
(c)an overseas voter who, before leaving the United States, was last eligible to vote in Montana and, except for a state residency requirement, otherwise satisfies Montana's voter eligibility requirements;
(d)an overseas voter who, before leaving the United States, would have been last eligible to vote in Montana had the voter then been of voting age and, except for a state residency requirement, otherwise satisfies Montana's voter eligibility requirements. See Montana Code 13-21-102
- Digital signature: means the certificate-based digital identification code issued to qualified personnel by the U. See Montana Code 13-21-102
- 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
- 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
- Provisional ballot: means a ballot cast by an elector whose identity or eligibility to vote has not been verified as provided by law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Special election: means an election held on a day other than the day specified for a primary election, general election, or regular school election. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Montana Code 13-21-102
- United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(2)The rules must provide that:
(a)there are uniform statewide standards concerning electronic registration and voting;
(b)regular absentee ballots for a primary, general, or special election are available in a format that allows the ballot to be electronically transmitted to a covered voter as soon as the ballots are available pursuant to 13-13-205;
(c)a covered voter may register and vote up to the time that the polls close on election day;
(d)a covered voter is allowed to cast a provisional ballot if there is a question about the elector‘s registration information or eligibility to vote;
(e)a covered voter with a digital signature is allowed the option of using the digital signature as provided in 13-21-107; and
(f)a ballot cast by a covered voter and transmitted electronically will remain secret, as required by Article IV, section 1, of the Montana constitution. This subsection (2)(f) does not prohibit the adoption of rules establishing administrative procedures on how electronically transmitted votes must be transcribed to an official ballot. However, the rules must be designed to protect the accuracy, integrity, and secrecy of the process.
(3)The secretary of state may apply for and receive a grant of funds from any agency or office of the United States government or from any other public or private source and may use the money for the purpose of implementing this chapter.