Too Late To Mail Absentee Ballots, Hand Deliver Instead

Montana voters who have not yet mailed in their absentee ballot are out of time to do so and county election officials now suggest hand delivering ballots to make sure they are counted.

Helena voter Kathryn QannaYahu got concerned this week when she checked in on how long it took for local election officials to get her ballot after she’d dropped it in the mail.

“I was a wee bit disconcerted because it took seven days.”

QannaYahu runs a blog focusing on politics and the environment in Montana and she sent out an email to her readers Monday urging them not mail their ballots in too late.

Lewis and Clark County Elections Supervisor Audrey McCue says the United States Postal Service recommends ballots be sent in at least a week before election day.

“After that time we do start to recommend that voters start to hand deliver ballot to their county elections office,” McCue says.

The midterm election is next Tuesday. More than half of current registered voters in Montana are voting by absentee ballot this year. According to the Secretary of State’s Office, as of Monday night, nearly a third of registered voters had already cast their ballot.