Flathead County certifies May 6 special‑district and school election; election office recommends keeping combined administration and buys equipment

Flathead County commissioners approved the county canvas of returns for special‑purpose and school district elections held May 6 and authorized purchases and maintenance agreements for ballot‑processing equipment, Election Manager Paula Buff told the commission.

Buff told commissioners the combined mail‑ballot election yielded 25,884 ballots cast from 56,688 mailed ballots, a turnout of about 45 percent. She said provisional ballots and tabulator reports were reconciled and that 391 ballots were rejected for signature issues and 25 were returned without required affirmation, so they could not be counted.

The county election office recommended continuing to administer school and special‑purpose district elections together when run in tandem, citing a pilot collaboration with Lake County that let each county’s…