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, whichever comes first. It also 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. Additionally, the bill mandates that results must be reported to the secretary of state's election night reporting system if the election includes a statewide race or ballot issue.

The bill further stipulates that after tabulation is completed, results must be immediately declared publicly, with the same reporting requirements to the secretary of state. It also includes provisions for the election judges to copy and display total votes cast and return forms to the election administrator. The secretary of state is granted the authority to adopt rules for notifications regarding vote total updates or delays during counting, but cannot require more frequent reporting than what is outlined in the amended section. The act is set to take effect immediately 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