State Administration and Veterans' Affairs Interim Committee

SAVA To Begin Tackling Problem of Aging Voting Systems

Committee: State Administration and Veterans' Affairs Interim Committee
Author: Sheri Scurr
Posted on September 5, 2017


Image of a ballot being inserted into the voting box

The voting machines that help disabled electors mark their ballots and the optical scan systems that tabulate election results are aging. What systems should be purchased to replace these aging machines and how to pay for them is a priority concern of county election administrators. The legislature's State Administration and Veterans' Affairs Interim Committee will begin tackling this issue at a meeting in Helena on September 14.

Also on the meeting agenda is a reply by Secretary of State Corey Stapleton to a letter by SAVA's presiding officer, Sen. Sue Malek (D-Missoula), requesting that the secretary provide SAVA with more information about absentee ballots cast but not counted in the May special election to fill Montana's U.S. House of Representatives seat vacated by Ryan Zinke. At the committee' July meeting, Secretary Stapleton suggested that more needed to be done to prevent voter fraud.

Committee members will also learn more about how election officials confirm a voter's registration, process voted absentee and mail-in ballots, and verify that a voter's ballot was voted by that elector.

Other topics on the agenda include transportation needs for veterans, veteran suicide prevention, and special district election laws. The committee will also review and adopt a plan for what issues it will discuss at each of its subsequent meetings over the next 12 months.

The committee's September 14 meeting is open to the public and will begin at 9 a.m. in Room 102 of the Capitol. The meeting will be live streamed at http://leg.mt.gov and will be broadcast on Television Montana (TVMT). Please check your local channel listings to find TVMT in your area. Public comment is welcomed as scheduled on the agenda.

For more information about the meeting, including a full agenda, visit the committee's website or contact Sheri Scurr, committee staff.

Committee Website: www.leg.mt.gov/sava
Committee Staff: sscurr@mt.gov or 406-444-3596