Montana Code 13-25-306. Presiding officer — elector vacancy
13-25-306. Presiding officer — elector vacancy. (1) The secretary of state shall preside at the meeting of the electors described in 13-25-307(1).
Terms Used In Montana Code 13-25-306
- Candidate: means :
(a)an individual who has filed a declaration or petition for nomination, acceptance of nomination, or appointment as a candidate for public office as required by law;
(b)for the purposes of chapter 35, 36, or 37, an individual who has solicited or received and retained contributions, made expenditures, or given consent to an individual, organization, political party, or committee to solicit or receive and retain contributions or make expenditures on the individual's behalf to secure nomination or election to any office at any time, whether or not the office for which the individual will seek nomination or election is known when the:
(i)solicitation is made;
(ii)contribution is received and retained; or
(iii)expenditure is made; or
(c)an officeholder who is the subject of a recall election. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Elector: means an individual selected as presidential elector under this part. See Montana Code 13-25-302
- Individual: means a human being. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- President: means the president of the United States. See Montana Code 13-25-302
- 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
- Vice president: means vice president of the United States. See Montana Code 13-25-302
(2)The position of an elector not present to vote is considered vacant, and the secretary of state shall appoint an individual as a substitute elector as follows:
(a)if the alternate elector is present to vote, by appointing the alternate elector for the vacant position;
(b)if the alternate elector is not present to vote, by appointing an elector chosen by lot from among the alternate electors present to vote who are nominated by the same political party or unaffiliated presidential candidate;
(c)if the number of alternate electors present to vote is insufficient to fill a vacant position pursuant to subsection (2)(a) or (2)(b), by appointing any immediately available individual who is qualified to serve as an elector and chosen through nomination by and plurality vote of the remaining electors, including nomination and vote by a single elector if only one remains;
(d)if there is a tie between two nominees for substitute elector in a vote conducted under subsection (2)(c), by appointing an elector chosen by lot from among those nominees; or
(e)if all elector positions are vacant and cannot be filled pursuant to subsections (2)(a) through (2)(d), by appointing a single presidential elector, with remaining vacant positions to be filled pursuant to subsection (2)(c) and, if necessary, subsection (2)(d).
(3)To qualify as a substitute elector under subsection (2), an individual who has not executed the pledge required by 13-25-304 shall execute the following pledge: “I agree to serve and to mark my ballots for president and vice president consistent with the pledge of the individual to whose elector position I have succeeded.”