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 administrator verify signatures in the statewide ElectMT system. "Lake County elections sent out 825 ballots to eligible electors who reside within the shared portion of the Big Fork Fire District that lies in Lake County. A 167 ballots were signature verified and accepted by Lake County elections," Buff said. She said the shared‑district approach improved transparency and efficiency and that the pilot will be presented at the statewide election administrators’ conference in August.

Buff also reported a higher than usual number of undeliverable ballots — 1,526 — nearly double the number from the 2024 general election. She said staff are working with U.S. Postal Service regional officials to investigate patterns, noting clusters of late and undeliverable ballots in parts of Whitefish. "Doubling the number of undeliverable ballots is a little alarming," she said.

The county’s cost accounting for administering combined elections showed savings: initial per‑ballot cost estimates of $2.12 fell to about $1.43 per ballot after invoices and payroll estimates were applied; Buff said final per‑ballot numbers may fall further once remaining payroll is posted.

Commissioners moved to approve the canvas report after the reconciliation and statistical review; the motion passed on a voice vote.

Separately, the commission approved purchase and maintenance agreements for equipment the election office said will speed handling of incoming ballots: a Pitney Bowes Ovation 4‑10 letter opener and a 2‑10 opener for the absentee team, plus automation equipment and maintenance agreements with Kelly Create. "This particular 4‑10 letter opener will date stamp, open the whole shebang for us," Buff said, noting the machine is faster and less damaging than manual openers. Debbie Pearson, the county’s election administrator, confirmed the county will continue to offer to run school district elections but that small districts may choose to run their own elections.

County staff also signed an amended notice of trustee election by acclamation to add Susan Johnson, who had timely filed a declaration but was omitted from an earlier notice; commissioners approved the amendment.

What’s next: election staff will continue the post‑election reconciliation, work with USPS on undeliverable/late ballots, and present the shared‑district pilot at the statewide conference. The new equipment will be used to date‑stamp and open ballots in future mail‑ballot elections.