Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. If you still have a mail ballot at home, don't put it in the mail. The U.S. Postal Service can't guarantee delivery when a ballot is mailed within a week of Election Day, so the Missoula County Elections Office is asking absentee voters to use a drop-off location instead.
Where to drop off your ballot
- Now through Monday, Nov. 2: the Elections Center, 140 N. Russell St. A secure 24-hour drop box sits on the north side of Building B.
- Monday, Nov. 2, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: drive-thru at McCormick Park, 600 Cregg Lane.
- Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.: drive-thru at McCormick Park; at the Hellgate Elementary baseball fields, north of the school at 2385 Flynn Lane; and on Russell Street between the Missoula County Fairgrounds and the YMCA.
- Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.: any polling place, without a drive-thru. The full list is on the county's current election page.
Registering late
Because the election is less than 30 days out, registering to vote or updating your address or name now has to happen in person. The Elections Center is open for registration Saturday, Oct. 31, until 2 p.m. and Monday, Nov. 2, from 8 a.m. to noon.
You can also register on Election Day, but the county says past elections saw waits of up to three hours, compared with under 10 minutes at the Elections Center this week.
Voting in person or checking your ballot
Look up your polling place at MyVoterPageMT.com. The same site shows whether your mail ballot has been received and accepted. Turning a ballot in early leaves time to fix a signature problem if one comes up.
Watch how ballots are counted
The Elections Office is running public tours at the Elections Center through the end of the canvass:
- Monday, Nov. 2, 8:45 a.m.: ballot tabulation, including the final equipment test
- Monday, Nov. 9, 2:45 p.m.: provisional ballot count
- Thursday, Nov. 12, 8:45 a.m.: post-election audit, a hand count compared against machine results
- Tuesday, Nov. 17, 11 a.m.: canvass, where officials confirm the number of ballots voted matches the number counted
The schedule and short explainer videos are at missoula.co/currentelection. Questions go to the Elections Office at 406-258-4751.
