Montana Code Annotated 2019

TITLE 13. ELECTIONS

CHAPTER 21. MONTANA ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES AND OVERSEAS VOTER ACT

Part 1. General Provisions

Digital Signature Authorized

13-21-107. Digital signature authorized. (1) A covered voter may use a digital signature as proof that the voter is the sender when the voter is electronically transmitting any of the following documents to an election administrator pursuant to this chapter:

(a) a federal postcard application;

(b) an application for voter registration;

(c) a request for an absentee ballot; or

(d) the voter's marked ballot.

(2) An election administrator shall verify a digital signature received pursuant to this section and accept a validated digital signature as proof that a document has been transmitted by the voter.

(3) Nothing in this section may be interpreted as:

(a) requiring a covered voter to use a digital signature;

(b) requiring that an election administrator use a digital signature in lieu of the voter's date of birth and social security number or driver's license number to validate the voter's identity during the voter registration process;

(c) requiring a county election administrator or the secretary of state to validate the voter's identity with the certificate authority that issued the digital signature;

(d) requiring both a valid digital signature and the last four digits of a voter's social security number as proof that a document is from the voter; or

(e) prohibiting a county election administrator from using the last four digits of a voter's social security number, if provided on the document, to verify that the document was sent by the voter.

History: En. Sec. 4, Ch. 226, L. 2019.