Montana Quietly Leading The Way
by Corey Stapleton
Bold is in. Drama is king. Audacity is cool.
But when it comes to managing Montana’s election systems, we have taken a different tack. Our office has been thoughtful. Quietly, we have improved nearly every aspect of running Montana elections.
When my administration began in 2017, we changed the name of the Secretary of State’s election division from ‘Election and Government Services’ to ‘Election and Voter Services’. Our changed focus from government to voters was intentional. Every day, we place the interests of voters first.
For fifteen years, nobody in Montana had been able to solve what to do with the AutoMARK voting kits. Every county clerk in Montana had these aging, bulky election machines which were rarely used. AutoMARKs had never lived up to the hype of adequately serving the disability community.
We solved the AutoMARK problem. I crafted compromise legislation which bridged the needs of the disability community with an acceptable physical ballot. This was huge. This paved the way for using lighter, modern voting machines in Montana, and we provided money to all 56 counties for purchasing at least one new machine per local precinct.
That was a big story of compromise you likely never heard.
This year, we’ve continued to invest money directly into Montana’s local election offices. Every single county has increased security via two-factor authentication, and every county has opportunities (and funding from our Office) to upgrade technology.
In three short years I have directed $2.6 million to Montana counties. We have increased the security of elections, increased the integrity of mail ballots, promoted high voter turnout, maintained valuable communication and respect with Indian reservations, and worked tirelessly with legislators, National Guard, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Quietly, we’ve gone on about our business. And our business? Serving you! |
Corey Stapleton
