Cascade County Commission votes to shift election duties to a nonpartisan administrator

The Cascade County Commission voted Tuesday to remove election duties from the clerk and recorder’s office.

Commission chair Rae Grulkowski urged meeting attendees to hold their applause and outbursts several times as more than 100 commenters weighed in on the resolution.

Speakers supporting the idea of hiring a nonpartisan election administrator were outnumbered by those backing current Republican clerk and recorder Sandra Merchant. Some commenters, like Great Falls pastor Kirby Shepard, accused the commission of subverting voters who selected Merchant for the job last year.

“The vote of the people — we the people — is the most fundamental right that the free people of America have,” Shepard said. “There is no good reason for this change. If there was, subterfuge and personal vendettas are most certainly the wrong way to go about it.”

Montana law says county clerks and recorders manage elections by default, but gives county governments the power to hire an independent election administrator if they vote to do so.

Supporters said the change is needed in Cascade County to shore up voter confidence and avoid issues in future elections. Merchant has drawn accusations of mismanagement in each election she’s administered since taking office, including in two lawsuits filed earlier this year.

Commissioner Joe Briggs said he pushed for the change now to give the county time to prepare for next year’s elections, which will feature a full roster of candidates statewide. With the resolution effective “immediately,” Briggs indicated the commission would need to move quickly to hire an election administrator.