House Bill No. introduced by B. Carter revises election laws concerning ballot tabulation by removing the continuous tabulation requirement. The bill amends Section 13-15-101 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) to clarify that counties performing tabulation using vote-counting machines must continue until all available ballots are tabulated or until 5 p.m. on the day prior to the election. It specifies that initial results must be provided to the public after all voters have completed voting on election day, but no earlier than 8 p.m., and updates must occur at least every three hours until completion. Additionally, the bill mandates that results must be declared immediately after tabulation is completed, with a requirement to first report to the secretary of state's election night reporting system for statewide races or ballot issues.

The bill also includes provisions for securing documents and allows the secretary of state to adopt rules for notifications regarding vote total updates or delays during counting, without requiring more frequent reporting than specified. An immediate effective date is established for the act upon passage and approval.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 13-15-101
HB0187_1(1): 13-15-101
HB0187_1(2): 13-15-101
HB0187_1(3): 13-15-101
HB0187_1(4): 13-15-101
HB0187_1(5): 13-15-101
HB0187_1(6): 13-15-101
HB0187_1: 13-15-101