The Daily Populous Tuesday September 24th, 2024 morning edition
Authored by newsweek.com and submitted by efequalma

Montana's election season has gotten off to a rocky start after absentee voters realized Kamala Harris was not a listed candidate on their ballot.

The state was forced to shut down its electronic absentee voter system after it went live on September 20 when a voter reported that there was no option to vote for the vice president.

Max Himsl, a Montana voter living in the UK, reported the issue when trying to fill out his ballot online, according to the Daily Inter Lake, a local newspaper. He reported it right away to the Flathead County Election Department on Friday, September 20.

As a precaution the Secretary of State's office, run by Republican Christi Jacobson, took down the electronic absentee system for troubleshooting, although it insisted that very few voters had been affected by this issue.

Heidi Desch, deputy editor of features at the Daily Inter Lake, told Newsweek: "My understanding is that the [voting] system was working again on Friday afternoon." Desch has not heard from Himsl since publishing his complaint on Friday.

Newsweek has contacted the Secretary of State's office via email for comment on whether the ballots now include Harris.

Newsweek has also contacted the Harris campaign via email for comment.

Kamala Harris at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's 47th Annual Leadership Conference, Washington DC, on September 18, 2024. She was left off of Montana online absentee ballots. Kamala Harris at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's 47th Annual Leadership Conference, Washington DC, on September 18, 2024. She was left off of Montana online absentee ballots. Kevin Dietsch/Getty images

The office reassured voters that this issue affected only electronic absentee ballots, which are for members of the armed forces living abroad, spouses or dependants of members of the armed forces living abroad, U.S. citizens living abroad, and, per the Montana Secretary of State's website: "Other individuals meeting definitions of 'absent uniformed services voter' and 'overseas voter' in Montana law."

According to the Daily Inter Lake, the Secretary of State has assured voters that this ballot issue will not affect physical absentee ballots, or Election Day ballots.

Montana's 'Vote Montana' platform has a list of all of the candidates on the Montana ballot.

This list does include Kamala Harris. The full list of candidates is: Donald Trump, Robert F Kennedy Jr, Kamala Harris, Chase Oliver, and Jill Stein. Crossed out at the top of the ballot is Joseph R Biden.

Jacobson was criticized by some opponents online.

Max Croes, former vice chair of the Montana Democratic Party, said on X, formerly Twitter: "This is criminal...The Montana SOS is an arm of the corrupt Montana GOP."

A polling place in Montana in 2017. A polling place in Montana in 2017. Justin Sullivan/Getty images

Jacobson was involved in a recent election controversy involving Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights, an abortion activism group in Montana, which threatened Jacobson with a lawsuit in July 2024 for removing names from a petition to get abortion included as a right in the Montana Constitution.

The group claimed that Jacobson removed the names of registered but "inactive" voters from its petition. However, the Secretary of State's office said that it was entitled to discount inactive voters as "qualified electors" and therefore their signature did not count on the petition.

The group took the suit to court on July 10, and the courts ruled that Jacobson must put the removed signatures back onto the petition, at least while the case proceeds.

Jacobson also recently asked the Supreme Court of the United States to consider appealing voter laws that were found unconstitutional by the Montana Supreme Court. The laws that were struck down prevented 17-year-olds from obtaining a ballot even if they turned 18 by election day, eliminated same-day registration, refused university ID as valid ID, and banned ballot collectors who received "pecuniary benefits."

Jacobson has claimed that the Montana court overstepped its bounds as it became a state court that was determining its own election laws.

SCOTUS is yet to weigh in on this case.

bishpa on September 23rd, 2024 at 20:29 UTC »

> As a precaution the Secretary of State's office, run by Republican Christi Jacobson, took down the electronic absentee system for troubleshooting, although it insisted that very few voters had been affected by this issue.

I'd like to know specifically what the remedy is here. They need to throw out any ballots that were cast prior to shutting the system down, right? They can't seriously just say "oh, it wasn't very many voters that weren't given the option to choose among all the candidates."

doublestitch on September 23rd, 2024 at 19:59 UTC »

Quoting the lede:

> "Montana's election season has gotten off to a rocky start after absentee voters realized Kamala Harris was not a listed candidate on their ballot.

> "The state was forced to shut down its electronic absentee voter system after it went live on September 20 when a voter reported that there was no option to vote for the vice president."

AudibleNod on September 23rd, 2024 at 19:43 UTC »

It could happen to anyone. Remember when an actual judge Aileen Cannon left off a 'not guilty' option on jury instructions?