Cascade County

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.

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.

A group of Cascade County residents, including a former county commissioner, announced the formation of an ad-hoc committee to monitor upcoming special elections. The committee formed after the Cascade County elections administrator last month said her office would face difficulty administering five upcoming special elections.

Cascade County’s elections administrator was the subject of a withering line of questions and criticism Friday about upcoming local special elections.

More than a dozen Cascade County residents said they were concerned and confused by the county election administrator’s handling of upcoming special elections at a public meeting Tuesday.

After the Cascade County clerk and recorder called into question the feasibility of upcoming elections last week, the administrator now says the elections will be held on their scheduled dates.

The Cascade County election administrator recently alerted the Great Falls Public Library and local school districts that her office faces obstacles to holding upcoming special elections as planned. It’s not clear when, if, or how upcoming school board and mill levy elections will proceed. Founder and reporter for online publication The Electric's Jenn Rowell has been tracking the story and shared her reporting with Montana Public Radio’s Austin Amestoy.

Local option sales taxes on recreational marijuana appear to have been favored during Montana’s midterm election. Efforts to ban recreational sales had a more mixed response.

Marijuana dispensary owners in Great Falls have won a lawsuit against the city. The decision determined a city where sales are legal can’t ban marijuana businesses without holding an election.

About two-thirds of Montana counties are seeing medium to high impacts on healthcare facilities as a result of rising COVID-19 cases.