Not everyone who attended last week’s Lincoln County Commission meeting was pleased with the passing of a resolution appointing an interim election administrator, but commissioners were unanimous in their decision.

County administrator Matt Williams was approved as the election admin while Melanie Howell remains on paid administrative leave during the county’s investigation of her actions. Howell was placed on leave June 24.

“The county has issued a formal due process notice outlining a number of work-related concerns,” Williams wrote in an email earlier this month to The Western News. “This action is administrative in nature and does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing.”

Williams said in the email that a review of the matters identified in that notice is currently underway. The purpose of this process is to ensure that all relevant facts are evaluated in a fair and impartial manner and that appropriate due process is provided.

District 1 Commissioner Brent Teske confirmed Howell is currently under investigation with personnel issues during the public comment portion of the election administrator discussion.

“There’s been a number of different allegations from different people and different places,” Teske said after someone questioned the reason for Howell being on leave. “Those have to be investigated during the process.”

Teske said the resolution provides for the continuity of the election office and for Williams to go through the same training to run an election in Howell’s absence. 

The resolution also says Williams will answer to the commissioners, a duty he already has as the county administrator. Williams also has experience in county elections. According to his LinkedIn page, he served as Applications and Systems Administrator for the Summit County Board of Elections in Akron, Ohio.

In an email July 27 to The Western News, Williams said he expects to undertake all available online training from the Secretary of State by the end of this week. 

"I will be attending the clerk and recorder and election conference in Anaconda next week, for additional training, to the extent that they will be doing any training," Williams said.

Williams added that without someone serving in the election administrator’s role, the county doesn’t have the ability to sign the form to give the access to the system that’s required in order to get the training to become a certified official through the Secretary of State’s office.

Then the commissioners heard from some individuals during the public comment portion of the meeting.

County resident and former candidate for public administrator Rocke Gifford said there was an allegation that she recruited him to run for the office.

“That’s not right and that’s not true,” Gifford said. “I asked her what positions were open and she read those out and each candidate had a filing fee and the public administrator did not have a fee, so I ran for county public administrator.”

Gifford also spoke about things he learned during his campaign for the office. Incumbent Amanda Eckart retained the position with about 82% of the votes.

“I was talking to a lot of people about the ballot situation. Some (voters) got all three of them (ballots), some got one and most of them didn’t get any,” Gifford said. “I think the county administrator will do a better job than what she has done down there.”

Lincoln County Republican County President Tony Wickham spoke of his concerns. He re-iterated his stance that Howell, the election office and election judges had done their jobs in the June 2 primary.

“We had an outstanding result in terms of the big deal about signing ballots. Eight were impacted by that, which is well within the realm of what’s normal year over year,” Wickham said. “My compliments to the election administrator and team. I think that’s a representation of great teamwork and leadership and a great process.”

Wickham also said Howell’s status on administrative leave needed to end.

“That should end,” he said. “Today, you’re in violation of Montana law by the way you’ve structured the elections office today. HB 293 when it was approved, this is legislation that represents, ‘We the people, right?’ We, the people want the election administrator reporting to the commissioners.

“You’re in violation today and it’s time to correct that and I would hope the Clerk and Recorder will accurately record the public comments,” Wickham said.

House Bill 293 was Rep. Tom Millet’s measure to place the supervision of the election administrator under the supervision of the commissioners. Millett, a Republican legislator from Marion, represents District 2, which includes sections of Lincoln and Flathead counties.

House Bill 293, introduced Jan. 22, 2025, sought to have an election administrator report directly to the governing body of the county, specifically the county commissioners, as opposed to reporting to the clerk and recorder.

At the time, District 1 Commissioner Brent Teske said the commission didn’t find out about HB 293 until Sen. Mike Cuffe told them. Cuffe, a Republican from Eureka, represents Senate District 1.

Teske said he was, “happy to have a less-conflicted resolution.”

HB 293 was approved in resounding fashion. The House of Representatives OK’d the measure 90-4 while the Senate approved it 44-4. Lincoln Co. legislator Mike Cuffe was one of four senators who didn’t vote for the bill.

But while the votes for HB 293 came from elected representatives across the state, the commissioners, all elected by county voters in dominating fashion, were clear in their opposition to supervising the election office. Even dating back to Josh Letcher’s term (2018-2024), they all cited the amount of time that would go into election training as well as the numerous responsibilities they already have as commissioners.

While some back Howell’s work as an election administrator, there have been multiple mistakes and decisions that many have not supported.

Prior to the June 2 primary, Lincoln County absentee voters who received a ballot and envelope to return it in also received a note that instructed them to sign their ballot. Not only is the direction incorrect, but it raises the issues of revealing a voter’s identity and whether the ballot would be accepted.

"The note that instructed voters to sign their ballot came from the Montana Secretary of State's Office. When I looked at it, I didn't think anything of it and we printed them and put them in the envelopes," Howell said at the time. "Some voters understood it (the incorrect note) while others didn't."

One voter, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Western News that he received two voting packages in the mail, one each for he and his wife.

"The ballots I received were for registered Democrat or Libertarian voters, but I am a Republican, so I needed to come here to get the correct ballot," he said. "My wife is a registered Democrat, so hers were OK, but it makes you wonder what's going on.”

Howell rankled some voters earlier this year when she proposed at a Feb. 11 commission meeting closing drop boxes in Troy and at the county sheriff’s office in Libby. 

Troy mayor T.J. Boswell was opposed to removing the drop box in Troy.

He cited calls from constituents, convenience for residents and 24/7 access. He also said the location is secure and sheriff Darren Short said there hadn’t been any prior issues with either drop box.

On the eve of this spring’s primary, another issue arose.

Bill Cripe, a Yaak resident, posted at 8:47 p.m. Monday, June 1, on the Libby/Troy Community Connection Facebook page. Cripe confirmed the message was made him in a phone conversation with The Western News.

He made the following statement: “Wasn’t the Troy ballot drop box supposed to be open until 5 pm? Us and others were trying to drop and it’s locked. My understanding it locked at 3 pm?”

In Cripe’s post, a sheet of paper titled, “Additional Ballot Drop Locations” was shared. It was enclosed with the absentee ballot packs that were scheduled to be mailed to voters on May 8.

The sheet lists drop box locations at Eureka Dispatch, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in Libby, the Troy Police Department and the county Election Center in Libby. For the first three locations, it states the ballot drop boxes will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week through May 31, 2026, and closing at 5 p.m. on June 1, 2026.

But the resolution, 2026-09, that county commissioners Brent Teske, Jim Hammons and Noel Duram approved March 18, 2026, stated that ballot drop boxes at these locations, “shall be available 24 hours per day, seven days per week until Election Day and shall be closed on Election Day.”

"Resolution 2026-09 reflects the full intention of the Lincoln County Commission with respect to ballot drop box operating hours," county administrator Matt Williams said in a statement to The Western News. "Upon reviewing the minutes and video footage of the public meetings at which this issue was discussed, there is no indication of any change in ballot drop box operating hours authorized by the Commission.

"The decision to deviate from the hours prescribed by Resolution 26-09 was made by the Election Administrator without the prior approval of the County Commission. It is important that the availability of ballot drop boxes be communicated plainly and clearly to the public. The county regrets that this did not happen, and the circumstances surrounding this failure remain under review," Williams said.

Howell attempted to justify her decision.

“Operationally, the Election Office established a closure time of 3 p.m. on June 1 for all ballot drop kiosks,” Howell said in a written statement to The Western News. “This schedule was necessary to allow sufficient time for election staff to retrieve ballots from all kiosk locations, secure and transport those ballots, complete intake procedures, reconcile ballot counts and prepare for Election Day operations. Even a later closure time, such as 5 p.m., would have required staff to continue processing ballots late into the evening prior to Election Day, which would not have allowed adequate time to complete these required security and chain-of-custody procedures.”

In 2024, Howell and the commissioners violated Montana law when she failed to provide the names of election judges 30 days prior to the June 4 primary election. At the June 12 meeting, Howell presented a letter regarding the appointment of election judges and the commission approved it.

    Lincoln County Election Administrator Melanie Howell, right, and election judge Veronica Bovee-Anderson check vote totals on the night of Tuesday, June 4, 2024, primary. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)