Lewis and Clark County Elections staff has recommended November's general election be held by mail with in-person voting options amid the growing health crisis, according to a news release sent out Monday.
The Lewis and Clark County Board of County Commissioners will hear considerations and a recommendation from the county election office at its Aug. 13 meeting on how to hold the general election.
The election office has recommended the election be conducted by mail, with in-person voting available Oct. 2 through Election Day.
The Montana Association of Clerk and Recorders/Election Administrators and the Montana Association of Counties made a formal request in a July 24 letter to Gov. Steve Bullock to hold mail ballot elections, stating they wanted to be "prepared for the worst, especially given that elections require numerous election judges and enormous groups of people."
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In response, Bullock issued an Aug. 6 directive granting counties that authority. The directive states that any county conducting a mail ballot election must also provide for in-person.
“The CDC recommends we offer a variety of voting options, longer voting periods, and alternative voting methods that minimize direct contact and reduce crowd sizes,” Elections Supervisor Audrey McCue stated in the news release. “We believe a mail ballot election with an in-person voting option is the best way to do that. It makes it easy for voters to cast their ballot by mail, without having any person-to-person contact, while still providing an accessible, in person location for a long period of time.”
Under a previous directive from Bullock, all 56 counties chose to hold the June 2 primary by mail.
Information on mail ballot elections can be found on the county's website.
