Special election could cost thousands

The special election to replace former Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke has already begun to make big news in Montana. The financial impact to each county could affect already tight budgets cause even more challenging adjustments for the remainder of 2017. Many of the counties have created their budgets for this fiscal year and have very little room for major changes or extra expenses that they had not been taking into consideration in the previous year. The special election is the unexpected expense that Sanders County has to work on in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

Nichol Scribner, the Sanders County Clerk & Recorder discussed how the Montana legislature’s tabling of Senate Bill (SB) 305 impacts their budget and the special election in Sanders County.

“We will be having a polling place special election on May 25, which is a Thursday. The Clerk & Recorder Association had tried to speak about the cost of the election to many in Helena. It will cost our county $12,000 to hold the special election by having polling places,” Scribner said. “This is something our office and the county did not budget for this year and we will be holding a meeting with the Sanders County Commissioners very soon to discuss how we proceed with the budget from that point and beyond.”

There is a pending lawsuit, Breck v Stapleton, which was brought by Thomas Breck, who is a Green Party Candidate, and Steve Kelly, who is an Independent. Both men are suing Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton to have their names placed on the ballots for the special election. Judge Brian Morris will be hearing the case on Tuesday, April 4 in Great Falls. This lawsuit, if successful, would impact the cost of the special election even more by requiring counties to shred and reprint ballots with the names of the independent candidates.

Reporter Douglas Wilks can be reached at dwilks@vp-mi.com or 406-826-3402.