Cascade County’s new commission chair said he’s concerned that a top election official position remains unfilled as election season approaches.
Commission chair Jim Larson said the office had received at least four applications for the election administrator job as of Tuesday and he hopes they’ll start reviewing them next week.
“Well, I wouldn’t be worried if we were done last week,” Larson said. “But, yeah, we’re concerned here with getting this done.”
The administrator position is in charge of the upcoming school board election in Great Falls — that’s scheduled for early May. A county employee is filling the role pending a permanent hire.
Cascade County commissioners in December voted to remove management duties from the clerk and recorder after a string of alleged errors in previous elections. Commissioners also agreed in that unanimous vote to abstain from discussing election issues during years in which their seat is on the ballot.
That prompted an election monitoring group to submit a letter this week asking commissioner Rae Grulkowski to withdraw from election decisions to comply with the rule.
Commissioner Larson said the county attorney is reviewing that letter. He added the intent of the policy was to avoid the appearance of “impropriety” by commissioners after the elections department was moved into their office last year.
Commissioner Grulkowski did not respond to a request for comment.
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Cascade County postponed its certification for the municipal election in Great Falls. This is the latest in a string of election issues for the county.
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Two Cascade County commissioners at a meeting Tuesday sparked a fiery debate when they voted to change the way the panel’s chairperson is chosen. One commissioner criticized the current chair as an ineffective leader.
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A citizen group monitoring the Cascade County elections office says they’re seeing evidence of new ballot irregularities in Great Falls municipal elections.
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Great Falls Public Schools’ trustees are asking Cascade County commissioners to take over election duties from the clerk and recorder’s office. The trustees cite a strained relationship with Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant, as well as concerns over her handling of the school election in May.
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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.
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Four county residents filed a lawsuit May 26 alleging that Sandra Merchant mailed ballots for a May 2 irrigation district election after a legal deadline had passed and failed to provide signature and secrecy envelopes.
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A Cascade County judge has appointed a monitor for an upcoming local election, agreeing the county election office needs more oversight after allegations of recent errors.
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Cascade County District Court says it will consider a request from the Great Falls Public Library to appoint a monitor for the library’s upcoming mill levy election.
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The Great Falls Public Library Wednesday asked a court to appoint a monitor to ensure its upcoming mill levy election is secure and valid.
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A citizen committee in Cascade County filed a complaint with the state’s top political watchdog alleging ethics violations in the county’s election’s office.