Bill to Allow Electronic Voter Registration Dies in Montana Legislature

They say the third time is the charm, but that doesn’t hold true for bills at the Montana Legislature. Today, February 3, a bill (HB 48) allowing electronic voter registration was tabled in committee. Similar bills failed in 2013 and 2011, all of which were touted by Montana Secretary of State Linda McCulloch

"It's a lot more secure," McCulloch said. "It's a lot more efficient and accurate. I had great bipartisan support and it died in committee on a 10 to 10 vote. This system would have provided an even more efficient and secure way for Montanans to register to vote. At the end of the day the voices of so many went unheard.”

McCulloch says every year people think they’ve finished their paper registration only to find out they aren’t yet ready to vote.

"Within the 30 days before an election, I get lots of calls from both Democrat and Republican groups that have collected voter registration cards and then forgot to turn them in," McCulloch said. "So I have to tell them that they can't turn them in and that they need to call everyone who thought they registered and tell them that they are not."

Although McCulloch said the bill had bipartisan support, the final committee vote was split mostly along party lines with all eight democrats and only two republicans voting for the measure.