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Montana politics, elections and legislative news

Great Falls library vote proceeds amid concerns over the county's handling of elections

Election Protection Committee member and former county commissioner Jane Weber (left) and Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant (right) at a Cascade County polling place in Great Falls, MT, June 6, 2023.
Austin Amestoy
Election Protection Committee member and former county commissioner Jane Weber (left) and Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant (right) at a Cascade County polling place in Great Falls, MT, June 6, 2023.

Voters in Great Falls went to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to increase taxpayer funding for the Great Falls Public Library. The vote is a test of the new county clerk and recorder's ability to hold an error-free election.

Polls opened right at 7 a.m. at the Great Falls fairgrounds Tuesday. That was already a departure from last month’s election, when doors opened late and Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant found herself embroiled in two lawsuits that allege she mishandled elections for local school boards, irrigation and drainage districts.

As voters slowly trickled in for the library levy, Merchant said she’s growing more comfortable in the role, and praised her staff for their work to prepare for the election.

“The learning curve has been a lot,” Merchant said. “It’s been pretty rough, but it was a lot really fast.”

Merchant declined to answer questions about a court-appointed monitor tasked with reporting any breaches of election law to a judge, but added voters should be confident in her ability to carry out valid elections.

Outside the polling center, some voters said they hadn’t been keeping up with the election office’s legal fights. But others, like 38-year-old Ashley Corrigan, said she’d like to see someone with more experience take Merchant’s place.

“I think that you’re seeing what is happening in Cascade County is due to voting inexperienced people in because they do have an ‘R’ by their name,” Corrigan said.

Kathy Workman is a more ardent Merchant supporter. She said she felt Merchant had been unfairly targeted by critics from the time she took office.

“And the interrogation and the accusations — I think she’s on survival mode, trying to get things done,” Workman said.

Great Falls Public Library director Susie McIntyre worries that even if the levy passes, possible errors could jeopardize the outcome. If the levy fails, or if the results are voided due to errors from Merchant’s office, she said the library would be forced to make steep cuts to open hours, staff and services.

Merchant’s elections will only become more complex from here, with citywide races on the ballot this fall and statewide and federal contests set for fall 2024.

Austin graduated from the University of Montana’s journalism program in May 2022. He came to MTPR as an evening newscast intern that summer, and jumped at the chance to join full-time as the station’s morning voice in Fall 2022.

He is best reached by emailing austin.amestoy@umt.edu.
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