Cascade County commissioners unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday, disallowing pre-printed labels on ballots for the upcoming election.
The resolution was drafted after concern that at least one write-in candidate planned to distribute stickers to voters with their name printed and spelled correctly.
A new state law requires write-in candidates to file with the Montana Secretary of State's office and that voters need to spell their name properly in order for the votes to count.
Pre-printed labels are not prohibited by Montana law, but their acceptance is at the discretion of county election officials.
Cascade County election administrator Terry Thompson said she was advised by election systems manufacturer ES&S that stickers might cause problems with the vote tabulating machines and should not be allowed.
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"It's not a question of if the stickers will cause problem, but just a matter of time," Thompson said. "Due to the fact that the stickers gum up the sensors and causes problems with outstacking."
Thompson clarified that if someone includes a pre-printed label on their ballot, their vote would still be counted by hand but would not be run through the tabulating machine.
There are a total of five write-in candidates who have filed: Rae Grulkowski for county commission, James Whitaker for House District 22, Shiva Ayyadurai for U.S. president, and John Metzger, and Reilly Neill for U.S. House of Representatives District 2.
Grulkowski supported the resolution which disallowed pre-printed labels on ballots.
