Finally, it's time to vote: Early voting has begun ahead of Tuesday's election
Share
Tweet
This voting booth, located in the Blaine County Courthouse in Chinook is up and ready to go. Absentee Ballots have already been cast and early voting has begun for the upcoming mid-term elections. In addition to the National Election with highly contested races between incumbent Senator, Jon Tester (D) and challenger Matt Rosendale (R) and Incumbent Representative Greg Gianforte (R) and Challenger Kathleen Williams (D) Blaine County also has a pair of contested races. There will be a new Sheriff in place following the election as well as a new District No. 3 County Commissioner.
I'm sure it's been a long and arduous election season for those running for office, whether it be on the local, state or federal level, but it has also been tiresome for the rest of us. For months on end we have been saturated with political ads, rallies, and opinions from all directions. The good news is it's time to vote.
Tuesday, November 6 is Election Day, as always the second Tuesday of November. Voters who chose to vote Absentee were mailed there ballots on October 12 and ballots have already been received by the Blaine County Election Administrator, Tammy Williams.
Absentee Ballots are mailed 25 days prior to the general election, if you are registered and requested an Absentee or Vote by mail Ballot and have not received one, stop by the Blaine County Courthouse in Chinook to check on your ballot or registration status.
Voters had to be registered by October 9 to vote at one of the polling locations in Blaine County. Late voter registration can be done all the way through election day when the polls close at 8:00 p.m.
This year voters will cast their ballots on a number of topics. The ballots include initiatives and uncontested races where the incumbent is asking voters to retain them.
Several contested races have garnered much of the attention at the Local, State and Federal levels.
Nationally the Senate race between two term incumbent Democrat Senator Jon Tester and challenger Republican Matt Rosendale has received plenty of attention across the country and has seen a record $60 million dollars spent on the race by both campaigns combined. The term is for six years.
Also at the Federal level U.S. Representative, Republican Greg Gianforte is the incumbent and is being challenged by Democrat Kathleen Williams and Libertarian Elinor Swanson. The term is for two years.
Another race that has generated a lot of interest in Blaine County is for District Court Judge. Chinook's Yvonne Laird is the incumbent and being challenged Glasgow's Pete Helland for the District 17 District Court Judgeship. The Primary race in June between the candidates was extremely close with Laird winning. More that 5,200 votes were cast in the Primary.
Also being contested is the Blaine County District No. 3 Commissioner seat. Tom Fairbank was sworn in this summer to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Charles Kulbeck. Republican Miles Hutton and Democrat Kim Hansen are vying for the position.
Also on the ballot is the race for Blaine County Sheriff. After decades of service to Blaine County, Sheriff Glen Huestis is retiring and the race to replace him is coming from within the department. Undersheriff Frank Billmayer, Republican and Deputy John Colby are vying for the position and both have been active in getting their message out to the citizens of Blaine County.
If you are registered now or are registering late and plan to vote at the polls you will need to present acceptable identification. Forms of picture ID's that are acceptable include a Drivers License, Tribal ID, Student ID, State ID, Passport, Credit Card that has a picture on it, Health Club ID, Military ID, Costco/Sam's Club Card or an employer ID. Your voter identification card can also be presented, even though it does not have a photo.
If an Elector does not have photo identification they can also present the following Government Identification with their current name and address (rules say an address is presumed to be current, unless proven otherwise): Polling place Elector Identification Form; Tax Refund Check; Medicaid/Medicare Statement; Welfare Check, Vehicle Registration; Property Tax Bill; Veteran Administration documents; WIC papers; Subsidized housing papers; Government Student Loan paperwork; Social Security paperwork; Bills from the University system, USDA Documentation; Disability paperwork; SSI documents; Any Government document (local, state, or federal) issued to a person the person's name and address on it.
Unofficially the ballots are expected to be tabulated and preliminary results should be made to the public regarding voter turnout and results in Blaine County by midnight, Tuesday.
Officially the ballots will be canvassed in Blaine County on Monday, November 19.
The canvassing process will be done by Blaine County Election Administrator, Tammy Williams, Blaine County Commissioners, Frank DePriest, Dolores Plumage and Tom Fairbank. The final member of the Canvass will be an elected official chosen by the Election Administrator.
