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Guest Opinion: Time to review changes in Montana election laws
Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 12/16/2006 - 11:47am
By BRAD JOHNSON
Montana Secretary of State
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/12/09/opinion/guest/52-election.txt
This was an interesting election year for Montana. The ads were really appealing! OK, maybe not the ads, but the changes in election law were unquestionably fascinating. We tried a number of new things this year.
As citizens, we owe it to ourselves to examine what worked and what could be improved.
First on the list of things that worked are Montana's election workers. Local county officials do the vast majority of the work in our elections. Without exception, clerks rose to the new challenges posed by changes in election law. County election workers toiled long hours - through the night, even - to implement new changes and laws and deliver results for us all in a way that was efficient and fair. In Yellowstone County, Election Administrator Duane Winslow has already rightfully earned praise for his honesty in correcting a mistake with the vote-counting machines.
Second is the attorney general's office. Despite the fact that Mike McGrath is a Democrat and I'm a Republican, he and his staff provided excellent unbiased assistance regarding legal matters throughout the election. I think our cooperation is an excellent example of the kind of bipartisan pragmatic service that Montanans expect from their election officials.
Election Day registration
I love going to the polling place on Election Day, so I didn't vote absentee. But over 116,000 Montanans did - nearly a third of those who voted.
More than 410,000 voted. We achieved a 63.5 percent voter turnout. This was nearly 10 percent higher than in the last nonpresidential election, and was the best turnout in a nonpresidential election year since 1994.
Almost 7,500 Montanans used the late registration process. Of those, almost 4,000 did it on Election Day.
We're still studying some allegations of irregularities on election night. If any violations occurred, we will move promptly to make sure the appropriate authorities are notified.
All of these statistics and related stories matter as we think about the election. With the Legislature going into session, now is the time for us as Montanans to decide what we like and don't like about our election laws.
One of the most obvious changes was the ability for voters to register through the close of polls on Election Day. Except for a brief interlude between noon and 5 o'clock on the day before the election, voters could go to the county courthouse, register and receive an absentee ballot on the spot.
On one hand, many folks say that it made greater participation possible. Informed participation is key to our system of government; if same-day registration leads to more informed participation that could be an important benefit.
On the other side, some people say same-day registration was very difficult for county election administrators to implement. They also say it was chaotic, and led to long waits on Election Day. What's more, many people believe it leads to fraud. Our form of government only works as long as the citizens know it's honest, so this is a key concern.
Some suggest requiring a state-issued ID in order to use the same-day registration process. We already require some form of ID, but this would be more stringent.
Others suggest making voter fraud a felony. If someone tries to commit fraud in our elections, they're defrauding our people, our history and our way of life. This is an idea that I support, but more important is what you support. Now is the time to think about this, and to contact your legislator.
Permanent absentee list
This year, Montana established a permanent absentee list. Individuals can sign up for this list and, when we get near election time, they receive a confirmation card in the mail. After signing and returning it, they receive their absentee ballot in the mail without having to go to the courthouse.
People who like the permanent absentee list say it makes voting easier and more convenient for them, and that increases turnout. Those who oppose the permanent absentee list say it makes fraud easier.
Now is the time to make our voices heard, before the session starts. Together, we can keep improving Montana's election laws.
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
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