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County elections officials urge repeal of continuous-count requirement to avoid fatigue errors
Summary
Multiple county elections administrators and the bill sponsor told the committee House Bill 187 would let counties pause overnight tabulation to reduce errors, recruitment problems and overtime costs tied to continuous counting on election night.
Representative Bob Carter, sponsor of House Bill 187, told the committee the bill would remove the statutory requirement that counties continuously tabulate ballots on Election Day. “This is just crazy,” Carter said after describing long overnight shifts he observed; he argued the change would reduce errors caused by fatigue.
Nut graf: County elections administrators from Missoula, Lewis and Clark, Gallatin and other counties testified in favor of the bill, saying continuous-count requirements led to extended overnight shifts, staffing shortfalls, rising overtime costs and a higher risk of human error. They said allowing counties to pause and resume counting would improve accuracy and retention of temporary workers.
Bradley Seaman, Missoula County elections administrator, said continuous counting can “open up this opportunity for errors” and described a tabulation error early the morning after the election where ballots were run through equipment twice. Seaman said counties offered shift differentials to recruit overnight staff but staffing still fell short and errors occurred when tired workers continued counting.
Connor Fitzpatrick, Lewis and Clark County elections supervisor, and Amy Reeves, Lewis and Clark County treasurer and election administrator, said the current requirement has led large counties to be staffed for extremely long periods — Fitzpatrick said Gallatin County was up for 53 hours straight in one cycle — and that pausing would let experienced, rested judges return the next morning and reduce mistakes.
Sponsor Carter closed by saying “Impaired cognitive ability from lack of sleep is very important. We don't allow truck drivers to do this. We don't allow physicians to do this.” He asked the committee to remove the continuous-count mandate to protect accuracy and staff safety.
Ending: The hearing included testimony from multiple county administrators describing practical problems with overnight continuous counting — staffing, worker safety and errors — and supporters urged the committee to allow counties flexibility to pause counting for rest and restart work the next day.
