son primary polling and suffered ….
son primary polling and suffered election volunteer shortages, crowded polls, voter confusion and COVID-19 transmission.
“Montana, on the other hand, provided clear instructions to voters, realized higher turnout than usual, and enjoyed timely results reporting,” wrote Shantil Siaperas in a letter co-signed by the clerks’ association and the Montana Association of Counties.
The associations wrote that a majority of the state’s volunteer election judges are 61 or older, putting them in the demographic most vulnerable to the coronavirus. They also cited a survey of election judges that indicated some were afraid of being “harassed or harmed” if they were made responsible for enforcing social distancing guidelines at in-person polling places.
The county associations also pushed back on concerns expressed by some conservatives that conducting the vote by mail could increase the potential for election fraud, saying signatures on mail ballot envelopes are checked against signatures kept on file for each voter.
“Mail ballot elections have security features that polling place elections do not, and anti-fraud protections are written into Montana law,” they wrote.
