_____________ bill NO. _____________

INTRODUCED BY _________________________________________________

By Request of the ****

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT revising laws related to tallying votes; requiring all votes to be tallied in public; requiring all results to be printed and posted; AMENDING SECTION 13-15-101, MCA; and PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE."

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

Section 1. Section 13-15-101, MCA, is amended to read:

"13-15-101. Votes to be publicly counted -- return forms. (1) Any official vote count must be open to public observation conducted in a public area and must be recorded by both audio and video.

(2)        Any official vote count must be held at the precinct where the votes being counted were cast.

(2)(3)     Immediately after all the ballots are counted by at each precinct voting location, the election judges shall copy the total votes cast for each candidate and for and against each proposition on the return forms furnished by the election administrator.

(4)        All election results for the precinct must be publicly declared, printed on paper, and posted at the precinct voting location for at least 7 days.

(3)(5)     The election judges shall immediately display one of the return forms at the place of counting and return a copy to the election administrator. Both forms must be signed by all the election judges completing the count."

NEW SECTION. Section 2. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.