The Lincoln County Commissioners will hold a meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday to discuss personnel matters in the Elections Department.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held in commission chambers on the first floor of the Lincoln County Courthouse in Libby.

Also, on the commissioner's regular meeting agenda for 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, they will discuss the removal of an election judge.

While county officials didn’t offer many details, the Lincoln County Republican Club posted on its Facebook page May 22 that commissioners would discuss solutions about the ballot situation and determine how the mail-in ballot would be handled in the June 2 primary election.

The county Elections Department, led by Melanie Howell, has come under fire for a note it included with mail-in ballot packages sent out May 8. The note told voters to sign their ballot, which is incorrect, and raises 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 in a May 18 interview with The Western News. "Some voters understood it (the incorrect note) while others didn't."

Other mistakes have surfaced, including leaving ballots out of the mailed voter packets. Registered voters are supposed to receive ballots for the Republican, Democrat and Libertarian parties.

But some voters reported receiving ballot packages without all the ballots. In primary elections, registered voters may only vote within their party.

Another prospective 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.”

Due to new laws approved by the Montana legislature and Gov. Greg Gianforte, voters are required to sign and provide their birth date on the return envelope for their ballot.

Proponents of the new measures argued it was necessary for election integrity and to prevent voter fraud. While the problems surrounding the county’s elections in the last several years were varied, the Election Department has been dogged by other issues.

In November 2023, Howell’s first general election was marred by a mistake with absentee ballots for Eureka Town Council. Nearly 400 absentee voters were sent ballots instructing them to choose one candidate for Eureka City Council. But there were two open seats. 

In 2025, Howell was put on administrative leave about a month before local school trustee elections. County Clerk and Recorder Corinna Brown didn’t disclose why Howell was placed on paid leave, but said her office would be managing the elections with help from election office assistant Sierra Gustin.

Brown and Howell butted heads previously. In July 2024, Howell sought a split from the Clerk and Recorder’s Office, which previously provided oversight to the Election Department. Because District 1 Commissioner Brent Teske is running for re-election, District 2 Commissioner Jim Hammons is responsible for supervising the department.

Prior to Howell’s effort to separate the departments, commission meeting minutes indicated that she and the commissioners violated Montana law when she failed to provide the names of election judges 30 days prior to the June 4, 2024, primary election. At the June 12 meeting, Howell presented a letter regarding the appointment of election judges and the commission approved it. 

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 there hadn’t been any prior issues, according to sheriff Darren Short.

Howell was hired in May 2023 following the mass resignation of the election department, including administrator Paula Buff, and Clerk and Recorder Robin Benson. 

Benson shared her resignation letter with The Western News, accusing the commissioners of mistreatment. Former county commissioner Josh Letcher said Buff falsified election documents, but never provided any evidence.

In her letter of resignation, Benson wrote that, “There is zero respect or even common courtesy from commissioners to county election employees or myself. My job has never been political, both on the Clerk and Recorder side and especially elections. Now, politics is being shoved down my throat and I refuse to comply with someone else’s world view.”

Benson also asserted that election staff were fearful of attending commissioner meetings.

“They can no longer do their jobs,” Benson wrote. “There is zero support from the commissioners.”

Buff later sued the county for “constructive discharge.” It means the voluntary termination of employment by an employee because of a situation created by an act or omission of the employer which an objective, reasonable person would find so intolerable that voluntary termination is the only reasonable alternative. Buff also alleged acts and omissions by the county were “malicious.”

Buff and the county later settled out of court. She now runs the Flathead County Elections Department after her hiring in December 2025.

Things started to go sideways in the Election Department during the Covid-19 era when social distancing edicts prompted officials to consider mail-in ballots for all elections.

Chris Nelson, who preceded Buff, resigned as head of elections Nov. 9 following the 2020 general election. The clerk and recorder’s office appointed Nelson to the position at the end of August when Leigh Riggleman, former election administrator, stepped down. County officials gave no reason for Riggleman’s or Nelson’s resignation. Riggleman departed after county commissioners switched from her proposed all mail-in election, meant to avoid the spread of the coronavirus on Election Day, to a traditional poll election.

After Riggleman’s resignation, commissioners changed course again, favoring a mail-in voting process.