The bill amends Section 13-10-311 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) to revise the procedures that election judges must follow when preparing for the count of votes during primary elections. Notably, the requirement for election judges to separate and count ballots for each political party has been deleted, while the responsibility to reconcile the total number of party ballots and other ballots with the number of electors voting remains. Additionally, the bill specifies that in counties where ballots are counted solely by hand, election judges are required to separate and count each party's ballots separately, which is a new insertion in the law.

The bill aims to streamline the vote counting process while ensuring that the integrity of the election is maintained. It is set to take effect immediately upon passage and approval, reflecting the urgency of implementing these changes in the electoral process.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 13-10-311
SB0498_1(1): 13-10-311
SB0498_1(2): 13-10-311
SB0498_1(3): 13-10-311
SB0498_1(4): 13-10-311
SB0498_1(5): 13-10-311
SB0498_1(6): 13-10-311
SB0498_1: 13-10-311
SB0498_X(1): 13-10-311
SB0498_X(2): 13-10-311
SB0498_X(3): 13-10-311
SB0498_X(4): 13-10-311
SB0498_X(5): 13-10-311
SB0498_X: 13-10-311