The ACLU of Montana has asked Secretary of State Corey Stapleton to take proactive steps to ensure that every qualified voter has access to the ballot box in 2020.
In a letter sent today, the ACLU of Montana reminded Secretary Stapleton that during the 2018 elections, too many Montanans experienced unnecessary barriers to accessing the polls or other issues that made voting difficult or impossible.
In the days leading up to Election Day and on Election Day itself, the ACLU of Montana fielded multiple complaints from voters across the state. The complaints varied. For instance, many voters were asked to cast provisional ballots when they were in fact qualified to register in-person and cast a same-day ballot. Worse, more than 100 voters on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation never received their mail-in ballot, and many people who live on Reservations faced barriers with the satellite voting offices. Still others experienced equipment failure or were treated rudely by elections administrators.
Free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy. As the state’s chief elections officer, it is incumbent upon Secretary Stapleton to ensure that by the 2020 election, the issues we’ve identified are addressed so that every qualified voter has access to the ballot box.
Read our letter to Secretary Stapleton.
Photo: Michelle Frankfurter /ACLU
