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Montana
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You’ve chosen to vote in MONTANA!

You’ve chosen to vote in MONTANA!

⓪ What you will need

① Get registered

② Request your absentee ballot

③ What happens next?

More information

FAQ and troubleshooting for Montana issues

Where should I have my vote-by-mail ballot sent?

I don't have a valid Montana MT State ID/Driver’s License or a SSN

The address on my Montana ID is incorrect/out of date

The name on my Montana ID is incorrect (or I’ve changed my name since registering to vote)

I need to print/mail a paper form but do not have access to a printer

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⓪ What you will need

① Get registered

Check online if you are already registered. If your home address or name has changed, re-register using the regular registration process below. >>>What if I'm registered somewhere else?<<<

Register by mail by completing a Voter Registration Application and printing and mailing it to your local elections authority. If you are registering for the first time (or re-registering) you should also request an absentee ballot by filling out the appropriate sections in the voter registration application using your mailing address.


Signatures, beware!   The signature on your vote-by-mail ballot request (and on your voted ballot) will be compared to your registration signature or your MT State ID/Driver’s License.

Make them match. Signing with a mouse may cause a problem, so it may be better to sign on paper & mail. Don’t have a printer? Email us!

Deadlines. Register and request your vote-by-mail ballot as soon as possible; things take time. Here are the registration deadlines, and the vote-by-mail deadlines.

If the address or name on your MT State ID/Driver’s License is incorrect/out of date or you do not have either a MT State ID or a SSN, you must also include a valid ID/proof of residence document that shows your name and current address along with your voter registration application. Acceptable proof of residence documents include:

Common Issues:

② Request your absentee ballot

Prefer to vote in-person? That may be a problem this year, and we recommend requesting a vote-by-mail ballot even if you want to vote in-person. You can take your vote-by-mail ballot to your polling place (during early voting or on election day) where they will void it and let you vote in-person. Also, if you don't receive your vote-by-mail ballot in time, you can still go to the polls in-person.

        

Any registered voter of the state of Montana may request an absentee mail ballot without providing a reason.

How to request an absentee ballot:

  1. Print neatly on the  Application for Absentee Ballot in black or blue pen (including your signature, matching your registration signature)
  2. Mail the completed application (along with your voter registration application from Section ①, if necessary) to the address provided at the bottom of the application (or look up the address of your election authority here)

Mailing address - send my ballot where?  Given the uncertainty of where you may be living due to COVID, don't have your vote-by-mail ballot sent to your campus housing address. If it arrives there and the residence hall is closed, nobody will be able to retrieve it. Instead, send to yourself at the address of a friend or relative with a stable address. They can mail it to you wherever you are. However ballots can't be "forwarded"; they have to be re-mailed in an outer envelope with new stamps. 

As a last resort, absentee ballot requests can be hand-delivered by noon the day before the election (11/02/2020); in that case the absentee ballot will be issued on the spot by the county election office, so this only works if you’re in Montana and can physically go to the election office!

Common Issues:

③ What happens next?

More information

FAQ and troubleshooting for Montana issues

 (See also the general FAQ for non-state specific questions)

Where should I have my vote-by-mail ballot sent?

Given the uncertainty of where you may be living due to COVID, instead of having your vote-by-mail ballot sent to your campus address you may want to have it sent to a friend or relative's home. They can get it to you wherever you are. Ballots can't be "forwarded"; they have to be re-mailed in an outer envelope.

I don't have a valid Montana MT State ID/Driver’s License or a SSN

If you do not have either a State ID or a SSN, you must also include a valid ID/proof of residence document that shows your name and current home address as provided in your application along with your voter registration application. A list of acceptable proof of residence documents can be found on the MT Voter Registration Application.

The address on my Montana ID is incorrect/out of date

The address on your ID doesn’t have to be current, however, you do need to provide proof of residence at your current home address. If you are registering to vote for the first time and your ID does not match your current home address, you will need to submit a valid proof of residence document (see the FAQ above) along with a copy of your photo ID as outlined in Section ① of this document.

The name on my Montana ID is incorrect (or I’ve changed my name since registering to vote)

If you changed your name you must re-register to vote following the steps in Section ① of this document.

I need to print/mail a paper form but do not have access to a printer

Not a problem! Please email us at vote@colum.edu with all the documents and/or proof of residence and identification requirements you need printed and we’ll print them and mail them to you.

About this page/project