Montanans are able to register to vote on Election Day until 8 p.m., and IDs that don't include an address will be acceptable at the polls. But an informational pamphlet for voters from the secretary of state says otherwise.
Ronnie Jo Horse — executive director of Western Native Voice, one of the advocacy groups that sued the state over its new election laws — says she's concerned the pamphlets will sow confusion in rural Montana and on tribal reservations, where internet and cell service are spotty.
"The mail piece was so critical because that could have been [voters'] only interaction with the election, and the information is wrong," Horse said. The snafu underscores how voting policies can change at the last minute with little time to educate voters. Montana was one of many states thatafter the 2020 election — several of which have been challenged in court. Horse said she hopes Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen distributes corrected pamphlets; the state hasn't yet commented on whether it will. Horse says rural voters already face barriers to participating in elections, like long drives to the polls."Just a few more hurdles, I think, would deter people from voting," she said. There is precedent for correcting voter pamphlets. In October 2018, then-Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapletonto print and mail out an addendum to a voter pamphlet that included formatting errors. Connor Fitzpatrick — elections supervisor in Lewis and Clark County, which includes the capital Helena — says his office is spreading the word about the changes on its website and social media pages, and by training election workers. "By keeping all of those avenues open, we can hopefully get as many people in the know about that rule set we're using as possible," he said. Fitzpatrick says his office has been preparing to deal with changes in election law since the lawsuits challenging the measures were filed last year. But getting updates to voters is a challenge, especially as the office also tries to combat misinformation about election fraud that swelled after the 2020 election.
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