It’s Montana’s primary Election Day. While mail-in voting began three weeks ago, this is the state’s biggest election to have in-person voting since polling places were closed during the pandemic. Accordingly, delays in results are normal.
The polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
Lewis and Clark County elections administrator Connor Fitzpatrick hopes to have the first round of preliminary results available shortly after 8.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “We’re going to get them out as fast as we can.”
Former President Donald Trump has made baseless claims that mail-in voting is fraudulent and that a delay in reporting results is a sign of trouble, but that’s not true. It’s normal for elections workers to still be counting votes a day or two after an election.
Election workers had additional training this year and took extra time to get familiar with new election laws, Fitzpatrick said.