(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . More than 1,400 voters in Kalispell may have been disenfranchised. Cascade County to miss deadline – Daily Montanan [1] ['Nicole Girten', 'More From Author', '- November'] Date: 2023-11-21 More than 1,400 voters in Kalispell were possibly disenfranchised in the most recent municipal election after the Flathead County Elections Office sent ballots with the wrong candidates due to a clerical error. One-hundred seventy-six voters submitted ballots with incorrect ward candidates, after updated ward boundary information wasn’t updated into the elections system. One city race in Kalispell was won with a margin of fewer than 100 votes. Flathead County Commissioners voted 2-1 to certify election results from Kalispell — but the two who supported the canvass said they did so with the hope the results will be challenged and the election be re-done. “It’s important to note that this certification does not imply agreement with the overall election process by the commissioners or Election Administrator,” a Flathead County spokesperson said in an email Tuesday. The muddled local election canvass is one of at least two in Montana. In Cascade County, a meeting to canvass election results was canceled Monday and rescheduled for Wednesday, past the statewide canvassing deadline. Although there is no consequence in statute for missing the deadline, Commissioner Joe Briggs pointed to it as an example of why the commission chairwoman should be replaced: The meeting failed to give a 48-hour notice to the public, the amount of time outlined in law, unless in cases of emergencies. The Kalispell municipal election featured several close elections, with 80 votes separating Ward One city council candidates Kari Sue Gabriel and Wes Walker and 109 votes separating Ward Two candidates Gabriel Dillon and Sam Nunnally. The county has no way of knowing if incorrect ballots would have swayed election results in Kalispell, a spokesperson for Flathead County said. There were 1,413 eligible voters, or 8% of eligible voters impacted in Kalispell. This number represents both active and inactive voters. Inactive voters don’t receive a mail-in ballot. Flathead County Clerk and Recorder Debbie Pierson told the county commissioners Tuesday voters or candidates would have five days after certification to contest the results and request the election be redone, with the county covering the costs of the re-election. Pierson and commissioners were on board for a re-do of the election, but one commissioner was a hold-out for certifying because of the previous election, a levy referendum to support the public library. Pierson explained certifying the results was part of the process towards ultimately re-doing the election, but commissioner Randy Brodehl said he was still going to be a “no” vote on certification. He said the mistake was on the county’s shoulders, but recognized the election office’s efforts towards remedying it. “I want to make sure that we get this very complete and correct,” Brodehl said. Canvassing in Cascade County Cascade County will miss the statewide canvassing deadline after attempting to schedule a meeting Monday to complete canvassing, but circumventing the typical 48-hour public notice. Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant initially scheduled the meeting for Monday, but announced the meeting on Friday afternoon, giving little public notice that didn’t include the weekend. Merchant, after receiving criticism, rescheduled the meeting for Wednesday to meet public notice requirements. County commission chairperson Rae Grulkowski told the Daily Montanan on Tuesday she assisted Merchant in putting the meeting on the calendar, and did not select the date. Commissioner Briggs said the previous election under Merchant was also canvassed past the state’s two-week deadline. He said the county has an obligation to give the public a reasonable opportunity to find out about meetings, and has, during his tenure, always given the public two business days notice. “To do something late on Friday afternoon scheduling it on Monday– in our practice, it does not match the way we do things, and I don’t think it matches the intent of the law,” Briggs said. Briggs and Commissioner James Larson took a first vote last week to restructure how the commission chair is selected, with Briggs citing concerns over Grulkowski’s lack of experience. Briggs and Larson refused to attend the Monday meeting citing public notice requirements, and without a quorum, Merchant rescheduled. Grulkowski said the canvass meetings have been more structured under her watch. Briggs said this meeting scheduling issue demonstrated why Larson brought forward the change. “This is a very public example of the problems we’re having with a chairman that is as inexperienced as she is,” Briggs said. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/11/21/more-than-1400-voters-in-kalispell-may-have-been-disenfranchised-cascade-county-to-miss-deadline/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/