Committee considers repealing continuous ballot count provision

Voting signs at a polling location at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds on Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)

On Election Day last November, lines of prospective voters waiting to register and cast their ballots stretched around the block from the Gallatin County Courthouse amid snow flurries. It wasn’t until 4 a.m. the next day that all voters had registered and cast their ballots. 

But the work for election staff was far from over, according to Eric Semerad, the county’s election administrator. 

Semerad and his election manager worked for 53 hours to ensure that they followed a law passed by the 2023 Legislature that requires county election staff count ballots “without adjournment,” until all votes are tallied — an idea meant to enhance trust in ballot counting. 

“It was an extraordinarily long election for us,” Semerad told members of the House State Administration Committee on Tuesday morning. “My election manager, and myself, were actually running tabulators through Wednesday night because we didn’t have anyone to continue that count. It’s just not maintainable long-term to do these kinds of processes.”

Semerad was testifying in the hearing for House Bill 187, which would remove the continuous tabulation requirement for future elections. 

Rep. Bob Carter, D-Missoula, told the committee that especially when looking at the largest counties, the provision created conditions where there is a higher likelihood for errors in the election process. 

“It’s inviting problems to happen,” Carter said. “I submit to you, this actually erodes voter confidence to do things this way.”

The 2023 Legislature passed the law requiring continuous tabulation in the name of restoring voter trust, according to former Rep. Lyn Hellegaard, who carried the bill. 

At the time, many county clerk and recorders, and election administrators testified against the change, saying it would place additional burdens on their departments and workers — concerns that played out last November. 

Missoula County Elections Administrator Bradley Seaman said it was difficult to recruit workers willing to pull the overnight shifts, even with an increased wage, and tired staff made small errors. 

While none of the errors impacted the validity of the results, Seaman said it was easy to see how bigger errors happen. 

“As people get tired, simple tasks can become more complicated, and it maximizes the opportunity to make large mistakes that could impact the validity of the election,” he said. 

Instead, he said, allowing staff to go home late at night, rest up, and return to work is a better option. 

In Lewis and Clark County, election administrator Amy Reeves said that many temporary workers ended up working for more than 24 hours straight, and several longtime election workers decided not to come back in 2024, which she framed as a bigger security risk than taking breaks from counting. 

“The votes are just like money or gold. You have to protect them. You have to make sure they’re accurate, they’re counted,” she said. “You can’t rely on a temp to just come in and fill their shoes.”

Election staff in Lewis and Clark County worked for about 36 hours straight, according to elections supervisor Connor Fitzpatrick. He said he slept for more than 17 hours straight after getting home.

Removing the continuous count provision “gives us a chance to recombobulate ourselves,” he said, and when they return in the morning “this problem that perhaps seemed so vexing the night before, might have an easy answer.”

Fitzpatrick said having election departments file a plan with the Secretary of State’s office of how they plan to handle any issues that arise, as well as a chain of contact, could be a way to add a layer of security. He also added that just because counties wouldn’t be required to count continuously, it doesn’t mean they couldn’t. 

“If we can finish by 2 or 3 a.m., we want to finish so our team doesn’t have to come back in the morning,” Seaman said, adding that for the sake of voters waiting for results, election staff across the state are dedicated to providing expedient, accurate results. 

In closing, Carter reiterated the need to allow election staff to take breaks, sleep, recuperate and return to safely and securely conducting their election work. 

“Impaired cognitive ability from lack of sleep is very important. We don’t allow truck drivers to do this, we don’t allow physicians to do this. We don’t let other professions do this. OSHA would have a field day,” he said. “We shouldn’t let zombies be counting ballots.”