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Citing concerns expressed by voters about election security, the three Lincoln County state lawmakers joined with their fellow Republicans in calling for the creation of a special committee to dig into the history of the elections and Montana election laws.
Along with 81 other lawmakers, Sen. Mike Cuffe (R-Eureka), Rep. Steve Gunderson (R-Libby) and Rep. Neil Duram (R-Eureka), urged state leaders to create the group in a letter September 29. .
Details of how the suggested council of lawmakers would investigate the election remain unclear. The letter to the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House said the committee would hold hearings on “Montana election process and security and propose future changes if necessary; including legislation.
By signing the letter, Cuffe and Duram said they were not claiming voter fraud. At the same time, the two lawmakers supported careful scrutiny of the state’s voting procedures.
“I’m not going into the pool saying there are piranhas,” Duram said in an October 1 interview. “But I’m looking for piranhas.”
While he doesn’t suspect the committee would set off red flags if launched, Duram said state lawmakers have the political will to fix any problems they can find.
Gunderson was not immediately available for comment.
Cuffe said he supported the effort because he wanted to assure voters that the Montana election was secure.
Over the past year, Cuffe has responded to several calls from Lincoln County residents who have raised concerns about voting procedures. Cuffe said he responded to most of those concerns by pointing to a list of newly crafted election laws that he had worked closely with Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and her staff on.
Earlier this year, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a law repealing voter registration on election day, requiring election administrators to review voter lists every year instead of every two years, and allowed election observers to each place of deposit in elections by mail ballot.
A bill sponsored by Cuffe that sought to tighten voter identification requirements was also passed.
While supporters have presented the laws as a way to strengthen the integrity of state elections, opponents argued that the new requirements could deprive some voters of the right to vote, including American Indians, students and elderly or disabled residents.
Thinking back to the 2020 election, which took place before the state passed the recent round of election laws, Cuffe said he had seen no strong evidence of violations of electoral procedures. Still, he had questions about how at least one county compiled the votes.
Cuffe pointed to a citizen-led review of the Missoula County vote count, which found about 5,000 less affirmation envelopes than the votes compiled by county officials. The senator said there might be a benign explanation for the discrepancy, but still wondered why the number of envelopes, in which Montanais are required to enclose their ballots, did not match the number of votes recorded by the county.
Missoula County Commissioners denied claims that the review revealed an error in the vote count. In an editorial published in Missoula Current in April, commissioners said volunteers had not rechecked their hand counts for accuracy.
Along with the establishment of the special select committee, at least one state legislator has called for more voting laws to be passed. According to the Montana State News Bureau, Senator Theresa Manzella (R-Hamilton) has suggested holding a special session to allow state chambers to pass election bills ahead of next year’s June primaries. .
Montana Republicans scored victories by large margins across the ballot in last year’s election. The results were certified by former Republican Secretary of State Corey Stapleton in November.
Recent pushes in Montana to reconsider the election reflect Republican-led efforts to cast doubt on voting procedures in other states. In Texas, the secretary of state’s office announced a full audit of the 2020 elections in four of the state’s most populous counties. Republicans have called for reviews in battlefield states lost to former President Donald Trump, including Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to the Associated Press.
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