House Bill No. 439

Introduced By schmidt, krenzler, masolo, dowell, peck, j. johnson, hagener, denny, kitzenberg, rose, quilici

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act allowing students who participate in the youth voting act to cast their ballots at a location other than a regular polling place; and amending sections 13-22-104 and 13-22-106, MCA."

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:

Section 1.  Section 13-22-104, MCA, is amended to read:

"13-22-104.   Program development. (1) The secretary of state and the superintendent of public instruction shall compile a program and establish a process whereby:

(a)  students are instructed on the electoral process, the importance of voting, and how to mark and cast a ballot;

(b)  students are educated about current issues in a manner appropriate for each grade level involved;

(c)  students cast facsimile or mock ballots at a location designated as a youth voting location or while accompanying their parents an eligible voter to a polling places place during regular elections; and

(d)  ballots cast by students at elections are counted and the results are made available to all participating schools.

(2)  The program must be presented to participating schools in a nonpartisan, nonbiased, and informative manner."

Section 2.  Section 13-22-106, MCA, is amended to read:

"13-22-106.   Polling place procedures. (1) The secretary of state and the superintendent of public instruction shall work with participating schools or county election officials, as necessary, to provide that:

(a)  facsimile or mock ballots are distributed to polling places in counties with participating schools locations designated as youth voting locations;

(b)  participating students accompanied by a parent or an eligible voter are allowed to cast ballots in the youth election at regular polling places; and

(c)  student ballots are counted and the results are announced to the participating schools.

(2)  The provisions of this section must be carried out in a manner that will not interfere with the normal voting process or established polling place procedures."

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