Missoula County Voter Guide: November 3, 2026 Ballot Measures and How to Vote

Last updated Oct. 10, 2026. We will update this guide through Election Day as rules or dates change.

Missoula County mailed absentee ballots on Friday, Oct. 9, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. This guide covers how to vote, key deadlines, and the ballot questions in front of Missoula County voters: three statewide measures on every ballot, plus two local questions that appear only in certain neighborhoods.

Everything here was checked against the Missoula County Elections Office, the Montana Secretary of State, and the official sample ballots for this election. Missoula Commons does not endorse candidates or take positions on ballot measures.

Key dates

How to vote

By mail

About 85% of active Missoula County voters vote by mail. Mark your ballot with blue or black pen, put it in the secrecy envelope, then put that in the signature envelope and sign it. Return postage is prepaid. The county and the post office both recommend mailing your ballot at least a week before Election Day. Inside the final week, drop it off in person instead.

If your ballot has not arrived, or you made a mistake or lost it, call the Elections Office for a replacement at 406-258-4751.

The birth year line on the envelope

A 2025 state law required voters to write their birth year on the return envelope, and thousands of Montana ballots were rejected for leaving it off. In an order signed Oct. 2 and reported Oct. 5, Lewis and Clark County District Judge Mike Menahan ruled the requirement unconstitutional and barred the state from enforcing it, which means ballots missing a birth year should not be rejected this fall. The Montana Department of Justice has said it will appeal. Writing your birth year costs nothing and protects your ballot if a higher court restores the rule before Election Day. Signing the envelope is required either way.

Dropping off your ballot

You can hand-deliver your voted ballot to the Missoula County Elections Center at 140 N. Russell St., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, or to any Missoula County polling place on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Staff at the voter services events listed below also accept ballots.

In person on Election Day

Polling places are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. Find yours at My Voter Page, which also shows your registration status, your sample ballot, and whether your mailed ballot was received. Missoula County has 20 polling places this year, from Seeley Lake and Condon to Lolo, Frenchtown, Bonner and the University of Montana, all listed on the county's election page.

ID at the polls

Voters at the polls show ID, and the safest choice is one of the photo IDs the Montana Secretary of State accepts on its own: a driver's license or REAL ID, a Montana state ID card, a military ID, a tribal photo ID, a U.S. passport, a Montana concealed carry permit, or a Montana University System photo ID. The state says other photo IDs should be paired with a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check or government document showing your name and current address. Missoula County's voter services page describes a looser standard, so if you are relying on a student ID from outside the university system, or have no photo ID, call the Elections Office at 406-258-4751 before you go. Voters without acceptable ID can ask about a provisional ballot.

Registering now

You can still register or update your registration through Election Day, in person only. Go to the Elections Center at 140 N. Russell St., or on Election Day to the Elections Center between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. If you moved within Missoula County since you last registered, you need to re-register.

Voter services events

At these events, county election staff can register you, update your registration, replace a ballot, take your voted ballot, or let you vote on the spot.

• Seeley Lake Elementary School, board room, 200 School Lane: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 3:30 to 7 p.m.
• Lolo School, commons, 5305 Farm Lane: Tuesday, Oct. 20, 3 to 7 p.m.
• Frenchtown Fire Station, east entrance, 16875 Marion: Wednesday, Oct. 21, 3 to 7 p.m.
• University of Montana, James E. Todd Building, Room 203, 32 Campus Drive: Tuesday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Gray Wolf Peak Casino lobby, 20750 U.S. 93, Evaro: Thursday, Oct. 29, 2 to 7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 31, noon to 4 p.m.; and Election Day, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The statewide measures

Every Missoula County ballot ends with three statewide questions. Two would amend the Montana Constitution and one would create a new state law. The ballot language below is quoted from the official sample ballot. Arguments for and against each measure, written by supporters and opponents, are in the Secretary of State's voter information pamphlet.

CI-132: Nonpartisan judicial elections in the constitution

The ballot says: "CI-132 amends the Montana Constitution to require that judicial elections remain nonpartisan."

Montana has elected district judges and Supreme Court justices without party labels since 1936. CI-132 would add one line to Article VII of the constitution: "Judicial elections shall remain nonpartisan." During the 2025 Legislature, more than a half dozen bills would have added party identification to judicial races, and Gov. Greg Gianforte asked lawmakers for a bill letting voters see a judicial candidate's party, according to the Daily Montanan. One bill passed, allowing political parties to donate directly to judicial candidates.

A yes vote puts the nonpartisan requirement in the constitution, so changing it would take another constitutional amendment. A no vote leaves the constitution as it is. Judicial races would stay nonpartisan for now, and the Legislature could still change that by law.

Supporters, organized as Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts, include nine former Montana Supreme Court justices, the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, Wild Montana, Montana Conservation Voters, the Montana Trial Lawyers Association and the Montana Federation of Public Employees, with major national funding from the ACLU, the National Education Association and American Opportunity Action. They argue judges should decide cases on the facts and the law, and that people in court want an unbiased, fair hearing. Opponents include the Montana Republican Party and the Montana Family Foundation. They argue judges already hold party preferences, that labels give voters useful information about low-profile races, and that out-of-state money is driving the measure.

CI-133: Constitutional rules for the initiative process

The ballot says: "The Montana constitution reserves to the people the powers of initiative and referendum. CI-133 amends the constitution to secure this fundamental right from interference by the government. Specifically, CI-133 requires impartial, predictable, open, and timely processes for ballot issues. Petitions and ballot statements must be approved within 90 days of the initial submission, and legal challenges to ballot qualification must be resolved before the deadline for finalizing ballots. CI-133 requires the state to allow ample time for signature gathering, prohibits disqualification of petitions because of minor or technical issues, allows voters to withdraw their signatures if they so choose, and prohibits the use of government resources to support or oppose a ballot measure."

Supporters say lawmakers introduced more than 20 bills in the 2025 session that would have tightened the citizen initiative process, and two recent local petition drives over data centers, in Butte-Silver Bow and Yellowstone counties, ended up in court over signature deadlines, KTVH reported. CI-133 would require any government limit on initiatives and referendums to meet a compelling interest and use the least restrictive means.

A yes vote adds those protections and deadlines to the constitution. A no vote leaves the current process in place, including the Legislature's ability to change it by law.

The campaign for CI-133, Montanans Decide, says the measure gives voters and the state clear, predictable rules. Its largest funders include The Fairness Project, American Opportunity Action and Unite America PAC. No organized committee is campaigning against it. The opposition statement in the voter pamphlet, which includes the general counsel of the Montana Chamber of Commerce, argues the language is vague, would leave its effects to the courts, and would make it too easy to qualify ballot measures. The campaign's manager, SK Rossi, told KTVH that whether CI-133 applies to local ballot measures may be something the courts have to decide.

I-194: Limiting corporate and nonprofit political spending

The ballot says: "I-194, if passed, limits the powers of artificial persons to those powers necessary or convenient as provided by law. These powers must exclude contributing anything of value to candidate elections, supporting or opposing political parties, or supporting or opposing state or local ballot issues. Artificial persons include non-profits, trusts, partnerships, corporations, trade associations, or unincorporated associations and includes all such entities doing business in Montana. Any violation of I-194 is punished by forfeiting all privileges to do business in Montana. Those privileges may be, but are not automatically, restored upon disgorgement and certification of compliance with I-194. I-194 does not apply to the distribution of news, commentary, or editorial content. I-194 also does not apply to the state of Montana, political subdivisions, individuals, political committees, or public corporations."

Montana voters banned corporate election spending in 1912. The U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision was used to strike that law down in 2012. I-194, which its backers call the Montana Plan, takes a different route: instead of limiting spending directly, it changes the powers and legal privileges Montana grants to corporations, nonprofits and other covered entities operating in the state, including those formed elsewhere that do business here. It is a statutory initiative, so it would become state law that the Legislature could amend, not part of the constitution. In April the Montana Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the measure because it had not yet qualified for the ballot, without ruling on whether it is constitutional, so that question could still go to court if it passes.

A yes vote enacts the limits. A no vote keeps current campaign finance law.

The sponsor is the Transparent Election Initiative, a nonprofit founded by former Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan, which supplied about 77% of the campaign's money through the end of May, Montana Free Press reported in June. Former Govs. Marc Racicot and Steve Bullock and former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester back it, according to the Flathead Beacon. Mangan argues that "real people should govern, not artificial persons created on paper." Opponents include the Montana Chamber of Commerce and the Kalispell and Billings chambers, which called it a "one-sided disarmament of Montana's own voices," as well as Americans for Prosperity and Montanans for Free Speech. Industry and trade groups that sued over the measure argued it would chill protected political speech, and critics note the sponsoring nonprofit does not have to disclose its donors.

Local questions

No city of Missoula or countywide levies or bonds are on this ballot. Two local questions appear only on the ballots of voters who live in those districts. Your sample ballot on My Voter Page shows whether you have either one.

DeSmet School District No. 20 bond

Voters in the DeSmet School District, northwest of Missoula, will decide whether the district can borrow up to $2.4 million over no more than 20 years to build a track and field and buy equipment to maintain it. The track would sit on city-owned land east of DeSmet School, leased to the district for up to 30 years, and approving the bond also approves that lease. According to the ballot, property taxes would rise in the first year by about $9.58 on a home with a $100,000 taxable market value, $28.75 on a $300,000 home and $61.41 on a $600,000 home.

Sorrel Springs Water District

Voters inside the proposed Sorrel Springs Water District near Frenchtown will decide whether to create the district under Montana's water and sewer district law. The ballot asks: "Shall the proposition to organize Sorrel Springs water district under parts 22 and 23 of chapter 13 of Title 7 be adopted?" Questions about the district's plans go to the Missoula County Elections Office.

The rest of your ballot

Above the ballot measures, Missoula County ballots include races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Montana Supreme Court, district judge retention, the Legislature, county offices and justice of the peace. The candidates on your ballot depend on where you live, and My Voter Page shows yours. Every county ballot style is posted with the county's sample ballots.

Quick answers

When is the last day to vote in Missoula County?

Tuesday, Nov. 3. Your ballot has to reach election officials by 8 p.m. that day. A postmark is not enough.

Can I still register to vote?

Yes. Late registration runs through Election Day, in person only, at the Elections Center at 140 N. Russell St. or at a county voter services event. It pauses from noon to 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2.

Where can I drop off my ballot?

At the Elections Center, 140 N. Russell St., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, at any Missoula County polling place on Election Day, or at a county voter services event.

Do I have to write my birth year on the envelope?

A district judge struck down that requirement this month, so ballots without it should not be rejected. The state has said it will appeal, so writing it is a cheap safeguard. You still have to sign.

What ID do I need to vote in person?

A driver's license or REAL ID, Montana state ID, military ID, tribal photo ID, U.S. passport, Montana concealed carry permit or Montana University System photo ID. For anything else, call the Elections Office at 406-258-4751 before Election Day.

Are there any Missoula city or county levies on the ballot?

No. The only local questions are a DeSmet School District bond and the creation of the Sorrel Springs Water District near Frenchtown, and each appears only for voters in those areas.

Questions about your ballot go to the Missoula County Elections Office at 406-258-4751. If something in this guide is wrong or out of date, email missoulacommons@gmail.com and we will fix it.