At the new Lake County Election Office, located in the Dave Stipe Annex, 500 First St. E. in Polson, business has been brisk heading up to Tuesday’s primary election.

Election administrator Toni Kramer said her office had accepted 3,856 ballots by Tuesday, May 26, although 49 were rejected for mismatched signatures or because they were lacking the birth year now required for the back on the envelopes, or it didn’t match their records.

“We have sent notices and called these voters,” she said Tuesday.

Her office mailed 13,650 ballots to registered absentee voters on May 8; that compared to 12,300 mailed for the 2024 primary.

Lake County has 22,470 registered voters, and of those 18,663 are considered active. The remainder either didn’t vote in a recent federal general election, and failed to respond to a confirmation letter from the local election office or had a mail ballot returned to the office as undeliverable.

According to Kramer, it’s easy for voters to check the status of their registration and their ballot at Voterportalmt.gov. Plus, she says, “this will ensure they know where to vote on Election Day.”

Voters can rekindle a lapsed registration either at the county election office or their polling place by completing a new voter registration and then voting.

Polling places across Lake County are open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. next Tuesday. The election office is also open for voter registration and voting from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 29-30, as well as 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Election Day.

As mentioned previously, voters need a current, valid photo ID; other qualifying documents need to have been issued by a utility or government agency and include the individual’s name and current address.

According to Kramer, those who are reading this and still haven’t mailed their absentee ballots now need to deliver them to their polling place or the election office. For more information, visit votemt.gov or call 406-883-7269.

Election settles Reksten vs. Finley battle; decides federal slate

The single hotly contested primary at the local level – the Republican race between Rep. Linda Reksten and Finley Warden in Polson’s House District 13 – gets settled Tuesday. The winner will face Democrat Dalton Bradford in November’s general election.

County Commissioner Bill Barron, a Republican seeking his fourth term, appears to have primary opponents on the ballot. However, neither Jesse Hernandez nor William Mitalski have actively campaigned for the position.

The Leader emailed both candidates about their apparent decision to drop out but only received a reply from Hernandez, who confirmed that he had suspended his campaign.

He said concerns had been expressed about whether he met residency requirements for the District 1, since he lives “six streets outside of the district boundary.”

“I chose to step back to ensure everything is handled appropriately and in accordance with the law,” he wrote. “At the same time, I believe it has raised broader questions about how these standards are applied.”

He’s possibly referring to an issue that came up two years ago in the primary when two Republican candidates filed a complaint against sitting commissioner Gale Decker, who lives on Flathead Lake but owns property in District 2, which he represents.

“I chose to run because I care deeply about this community and believe in the importance of accountability, transparency and strong public safety,” Hernandez wrote, citing a 21-year career in law enforcement.

Only Republican incumbents have filed for the remaining courthouse positions of clerk and recorder, treasurer, county attorney, superintendent of schools and sheriff.

Incumbents Molly Owen and John Mercer are running for the two non-partisan positions of District Court judges, while Rick Schoening is again on the ballot for justice of the peace. In a Supreme Court contest, two Flathead County district court judges, Amy Eddy and Dan Wilson, face off for a seat on the seven-member high court.

Democrat Shelly Fyant began the campaign season with an apparent challenger for House District 91, Rustin Bielski, who dropped out of the race early on. She faces Republican Charles Headley of Arlee in the general.

Representatives of districts that straddle the boundaries of the Blackfeet and Flathead Reservations are facing primary challengers. First-term Democrat Thedis Crowe is up against Adrien Owen-Wagner of Heart Butte in House District 15; the winner faces Republican Ralph Foster of St. Ignatius.

Democrats Jade Heather Ackerman of Cut Bank and Tyson Running Wolf of Browning are vying to replace outgoing Sen. Susan Weber in Senate District 8; the winner takes on Republican Christopher Paul Buckles.

Of course, partisans on either side of the aisle will find plenty of choices at the federal level, where Rep. Ryan Zinke announced on the eve of the filing deadline that he’s stepping down Jan. 1, as did Sen. Steve Daines, literally moments before the primary closed. That leaves two open seats in Washington, D.C., and a host of candidates looking to fill them in November.

For a sample ballot, visit www.lakemt.gov/2504/June-2-2026-Federal-Primary-Election.