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Committee hears bill requiring standardized precinct‑level election reporting; bill tabled after questions on scope and workload
Summary
Senate Bill 440 would have required counties to submit standardized, precint-level reconciliation spreadsheets to the Secretary of State before certification; supporters said it would speed detection of anomalies, while opponents warned of duplication and burdens on tribal utilities and county staff.
Senate Bill 440, a measure to require counties to submit a standardized spreadsheet of election reconciliation data to the Secretary of State prior to certification, drew backing from election‑integrity volunteers and criticism from tribal representatives and county officials before it was tabled by the Senate State Administration Committee.
Sponsor Sen. Theresa Manzella said the bill would require counties to report totals — number of registered electors in a county and precinct, ballots issued by type (poll, absentee, provisional, military), ballots accepted and rejected, test ballots printed and counted, and similar reconciliation figures — in a standardized digital format before certification.
Proponents said consistent, downloadable data would allow citizens and independent auditors to reconcile ballots to voters and detect anomalies earlier. “This bill is an important step to ensuring that every vote counts,” said Luessenheide (testifying as a proponent). Dave Nims told the committee that current data packages hold gaps and that his review shows discrepancies in multiple counties beyond the Butte‑Silver Bow example.
Opponents included representatives of tribal governments and utilities, who warned the proposal could burden tribal utilities asked to provide address information, and who urged sensitivity to tribal sovereignty and existing audits. Representatives from Northwestern Energy and Montana Electric Cooperatives Association said member privacy policies and contractual rules limit public release of customer address data. A Blackfeet representative said Montana already conducts traditional post‑election tabulation audits and that the proposed requirements could duplicate processes.
Committee members raised questions about the legislative audit committee’s staff capacity to perform additional work if leadership requested an audit, and about long‑term digital retention requirements described in the bill. Sponsor Manzella said the intent was to enable the Legislature — as part of its constitutional duty to safeguard elections — to obtain timely data for review and reconciliation, and she urged further work on technical and operational details.
After the hearing and later executive discussion, the committee tabled the bill during executive action.
