Within the first four hours of the early ballot process, Flathead County elections staff rejected 58 ballots cast for the federal primary election because of multi-party voting.  

The early ballot process, which began Thursday morning, sees election workers opening ballots received by mail and storing them ahead of counting on June 2. The 58 rejected ballots account for about 2% of the roughly 3,000 ballots received by the Flathead County Election Department, but Elections Administrator Paula Buff deemed it alarming.  

“This is the highest rejection rate I have witnessed since my time as an election administrator,” she said.  

Once ballots are removed from the secrecy envelope, election workers don’t know who filled it out and it turns into a wasted vote, Buff said.  

Montana’s open primary laws allow voters to participate in any political primary, but their vote is limited to one party ballot. Absentee voters who received all three primary ballots must fill out one and discard the other two, Buff said. 

Absentee ballots should be delivered in person no later than 8 p.m. on June 2, Election Day. Ballots mailed between now and Election Day are not guaranteed to arrive before the deadline, Buff said.  

A drop box is available at the Election Department inside the Flathead County North Complex Building at 290 B N. Main St. in Kalispell. Drive-thru drop boxes are available at the Trade Center at 265 N. Meridian Road in Kalispell through Election Day. Absentee ballots are also accepted at any polling location in Flathead County on Election Day. 

Absentee voters must sign and put their birth year on the affirmation envelope for it to be accepted. If a voter makes a mistake on their ballot, they can visit the Election Department any time between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on May 29 – 30 and June 1, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on June 2 for a new ballot.  

Report for America Reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at 406-758-4439 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.