The Life of Your Ballot

1. Type of Election, Filing and Deadlines

• The date the election is held determines the type of ballot to be generated. School, Municipal, Special Election, Federal Primary, Federal General are the types of elections held in Missoula County. 
• The “close of candidate filing” varies from 75 days to 85 days before Election Day, depending on the type of election. In addition, ballot issues must satisfy the petition process or be passed by a governing body 70-75 days prior, depending on the election.
• These deadlines allow the Elections Office to have final language to put on the ballot. This information is entered in a portal for the ballot vendor can create a proof. 

2. Proofing 

• The proofing process can take several days as text on the ballot is cross-checked against the original paperwork. The Elections Office looks at the way the candidate wants their name to appear on the ballot and any resolution or petition paperwork for a ballot issue. 
• For a small election the proofing process can take a day or two. For a federal election, it can take more than a week. For example, in the 2014 June Primary, the Elections Office proofed 75 ballot styles due to both Republican and Democrat ballots. The voter may choose which party ballot they intend to vote, but they cannot vote both.

3. Finalizing

• While the Elections Office proofs ballots, they are simultaneously finalizing printing numbers. Law requires that the Elections Office print a ballot for every active voter. To ensure we do not run out of ballots during an election, we also print a ballot for every inactive voter, plus extra for replacement ballots and new registrants. Missoula County currently has nearly 74,000 voters.

4. Printing

• Once the ballot is finalized and the Election Office has determined how many ballots to print, the ballot goes to a local printer for printing. The printing process can take several days, especially if there is print on the backside of the ballot. It takes a day for the front side to dry before printing on the back.  The printing process is very meticulous and an Elections staff member is present through the whole process. 
• After printing, ballots are delivered to the Elections Center where they can be stored with high security measures. Ballots are then divided into ballots for polling places and ballots being mailed to absentee voters. 

5. Mailing

• Absentee ballots must be mailed 25 days prior to the election. Ballot preparation can start 40 days before the mailing date to ensure our office can successfully mail within the 25 day time-frame. 
• For a large election, the Election Office uses 30 to 40 staff members to prepare ballot packets for mailing. 
• Once ballots are mailed, voters can track their ballot through the process by visiting the Secretary of State My Voter Page. Voters can confirm their mailing address and see the current status of their ballot for federal elections. 

6. Testing

• At least two times before an election, ballots are tested in each voting machine used on Election Day. This ensures accuracy and proper tabulation of the ballot. 

7. Verifying & Accepting

• As absentee ballots are returned in the mail or in person before (and on) Election Day, the signature portion on the absentee packet is verified. The signature on the envelope must match the signature on the voter’s file. An election worker verifies each signature manually.
• Accepted ballots are then reconciled to ensure the physical count matches what has been recorded in the database. 

8. Counting 

• Ballots are not counted before Election Day. Ballots for a federal election can be opened the Monday before a Primary or General to ensure the ballot is flattened, which helps the ballot go through the tabulation machine more efficiently. This also provides the Elections Office a head start on tabulation on Election Day so that we have a large percentage of votes recorded by the close of polls. 
• Ballots cast at a polling place are tabulated through the precinct counting machine, also known as the M100. Each precinct’s results are added to the absentee results for an overall total. This is done after 8 p.m. on election night. 
• After all the ballots are counted, they are stored by their ballot type in boxes. Once sealed, they can only be reopened with a court order, unless a recount or post-election audit is conducted. 

9. Post-Election Audit

• A post-election audit is when the Secretary of State assigns a handful of precincts to be counted by hand. This ensures the hand count number can verify and validate the voting machine results. Post-election audits are only conducted for Federal Primary and General elections.

10. Storage

• After an election, a ballot is stored for two years for a federal election and one year for a local election in our warehouse. After its retention time, the Elections Office submits a request to state and county agencies to destroy the ballot. Once all of the agencies have signed off on a destruction form, the ballots are then taken to the landfill for their final resting place.