Missoula Municipal Primary Election To Be Held On September 14

Press release from the Missoula County Government:

July 6, 2021

The Missoula County Elections Office will conduct a municipal primary election Tuesday, Sept. 14, for the offices of Missoula mayor and city council Wards 1 and 6.

Since the Missoula City Council voted to conduct the election by mail, polling places will not be open on Election Day. All active and provisional registered voters will receive a ballot after they’re mailed Wednesday, Aug. 25. Ballots are due back to the Elections Office by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14. Postmarks are not sufficient. Return postage is paid.

Voters in Wards 1 and 6 will see two races on their ballots: the mayoral race and the city council race. All other wards will only cast a vote in the mayoral race. Ward 1 has four candidates running for city council, while Ward 6 has two.

Three candidates originally filed for the Ward 6 race; however, the Elections Office was notified on July 1 that a candidate did not complete all the filing requirements. Due to tight deadlines between the close of candidate filing and the City’s requirement to call for an election, it is still required to run the primary election in Ward 6 as requested by the City’s resolution. The remaining two candidates who appear on the primary ballot in Ward 6 will proceed to the general election this fall.

“We are excited to serve all voters in Missoula County,” Elections Administrator Bradley Seaman said. “We look forward to administering the City’s upcoming elections, and we’ll have public tours of the process for voters to better understand how elections are run in Montana and Missoula.”

Missoula residents can find their ward at http://missoula.co/findmyward and can verify they are registered to vote at their current address at www.myvoterpagemt.com. Residents who need to register to vote or update their registration need to fill out the voter registration form found at http://missoula.co/registertovote.

The deadline for regular voter registration is 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 16. Late registration will be available Tuesday, Aug. 17, through noon Monday, Sept. 13. During late registration, any changes to voter registration must take place in-person at the Elections Center at 140 N. Russell St.

Due to recent changes in state law, Missoula residents can no longer register to vote or make changes to their voter registration on Election Day. However, voters may still replace an absentee ballot or pick up an undeliverable ballot on Election Day at the Elections Center.

Common voter questions are online at http://missoula.co/primary2021faq. Voters can also learn how Missoula County ensures election integrity at http://missoula.co/electionintegrity.

This press release was produced by the Missoula County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.