Commissioners advocate for HB-2 with election funding intact

The Mineral County Commissioners composed and sent a letter to Montana House District 14 Representative Nick Schwaderer on Thursday, urging the representative to support House Bill 2 with wording to keep Montana Votes funding at the state level.

Montana Votes is the result of the federal Help America Vote Act, passed in 2003, and tracks registered voters, voting history and petitions.

“The federal government funded this petition for four years and then intended to pass on the full cost to the counties,” the letter reads. “Counties like Mineral County cannot afford the additional eight to 10 thousand dollars that this bill would add to election costs.”

House Bill 2, which is currently being debated in various subcommittees of the state legislature, contains the proposed budget for the 2014-15 biennium.

Montana Secretary of State Linda McCullouh requested state funding for Montana Votes in the bill and if passed as currently written, the bill will provide the necessary funds without having counties foot the bill.

“We think that the cost of maintaining this system should be a cost of state government and funding that our legislative body should support, especially given the large surplus currently being carried,” the letter reads. “We encourage you to support House Bill 2 with this funding intact.”

All three county commissioners signed the letter, which was sent to Rep. Schwaderer’s office on Thursday afternoon.