Photo illustration by Getty Images.
Voting is underway for Montanans in the 2024 election, with nearly 23,000 ballots already returned to election offices. For those eligible voters who have yet to cast their ballot, here’s a quick guide to Montana’s voting process.
Late registration for the 2024 election began Oct. 8 in Montana, meaning all eligible voters who need to register to vote or update their registration can still do so until noon on Nov. 4, but forms must be delivered in person to election offices. You are able to vote in-person when registering or updating your registration at your local election office. Same-day voter registration is possible at all polling locations. If you are in line before 8 p.m., you can register and cast your ballot.
Check your voter status on the Secretary of State’s website. This will show your registration status, whether you are an absentee voter or not, what precinct you are in to vote in-person, and which Montana State House and Senate districts you live in. You can also track your absentee ballot online.
If your registration status is inactive, that’s OK! You are on the Inactive Registration List, along with 136,548 fellow Montanans, if you did not vote in the last federal general election or you had a mail ballot returned to the county election office as undeliverable, and you did not respond to confirmation mailings sent by the county election office.
To reactivate your voter registration you may:
Notify your county election office in writing that your voter registration information is current
Appear at the polling place where you are registered to vote on election day
Request an absentee ballot or provide a new or updated voter registration application to the county election office.
Absentee Voting Process
Some Montana counties require absentee voters to pay to mail their ballot in. (Photo by Micah Drew, Daily Montanan)
County election offices mailed absentee ballot packets to active, registered absentee voters on Oct. 11. If you are registered as an absentee voter, you should have received your ballot by now. If not, contact your county election office.
To vote absentee, fill out your ballot, place it in the secrecy envelope, and mail it to the election office in the envelope provided. Some counties (Missoula County, for example) pay for postage to return your ballot but others (Flathead County, for example) do not. Check if you need to affix stamps to your envelope before mailing it. Alternatively, Montanans can vote absentee in-person at all county election offices until election day by dropping off their ballot in person. Absentee ballots can also be dropped off at your polling place on Election Day by 8 p.m.
Vote on Election Day, Nov. 5, by visiting your precinct, which you can look up here and find using this handy list, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. A few select precincts with fewer than 400 registered electors may only be open from noon to 8 p.m. You can check the hours of your precinct by clicking here.
Voter ID
To vote in person, electors must provide a form of identification which can include a Montana driver’s license or the last four digits of your social security number. Additional accepted voter IDs include current and valid photo identification, including but not limited to a school district or postsecondary education photo identification or a tribal photo identification, with the individual’s name or at least one of the following: a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or other government document that shows the individual’s name and current address.