GREAT FALLS — There are some recent changes in the administration of Cascade County elections. For some voters in the county, there may be changes on where and who you’re voting for due to redistricting.
Recently, the county sent out voter confirmation cards.
“What these voter confirmation cards do is they tell you where your polling place is,” said Terry Thompson, the recently appointed Cascade County Election Administrator.
2024 will be a busy election year in Cascade County. In just over a month, Great Falls voters will select a school board member. In June, a primary election will be held. And new leaders and issues will be determined in November during a general election.
- Two men shot dead in Box Elder
- Downtown Summer Jam concert lineup
- Grizzly bear killed in Teton County
- Blackfeet Nation hosts 'Lily Gladstone Day'
Redistricting resulted in some changes, which are reflected on the cards.
“For Cascade County, I think it mostly impacts the folks that live in Ulm,” said Thompson. “So it tells them that they have to go to Sun River. That's one of our polling places. However, any voter in Cascade County can come to the election office on Election Day or they can come to Exhibition Hall. We will be doing voter registration there.”
Thompson says some of those voters are wondering why they need to travel so far to vote.
"The feedback we're hearing from people is that they're frustrated that they've got to drive 30 miles west, when they can come 11 miles into Great Falls,” said Thompson.
Thompson says on election day, the office will have every precinct table set up at Exhibition Hall at Montana ExpoPark. She says some people are frustrated that polling places aren’t available in smaller communities, but with close to 80% of voters voting absentee, it just makes financial sense.
“If you have a precinct where maybe you have 100 electors or voters in that precinct, but let's say that 90 of those 100 are absentee, would it be cost efficient to open a polling place for ten people to come to?” said Thompson.
Thompson says it's also important to check which State House and Senate District you’re in as that may have changed due to redistricting. If there’s incorrect address information on your card, contact her office.
Thompson says adding more polling places would be based upon feedback and would require a resolution by commissioners.
She says there are some specifics to statutes regarding polling places, but they don’t want to change it now that the voter confirmation cards have been sent out.
Regular voter registration in Cascade County ends on April 8. Late registration opens on April 9 which requires the voter to register at the election office.
The next election the county will administer is the all-mail Great Falls Board election on May 7. Ballots will be mailed out on April 17. The deadline for candidates to file is March 28 at 5:00 p.m. As of Wednesday, March 27, three candidates had filed for one open position on the school board.
The county will also oversee the Fort Shaw Irrigation District election on May 7 which is also an all-mail ballot.
The primary election will be June 4. The general election is on November 5.
