Committee hears bill to end hand-stamping by allowing printed 'official ballot'

Senator Wendy McCain opened the hearing on Senate Bill 242, describing it as a narrow change to the ballot form and uniformity requirements that would allow the words "official ballot" to be printed in a uniform location on ballots instead of being hand-stamped by clerks.

Supporters told the House State Administration committee the change is procedural and aimed at reducing heavy manual workloads. Regina Plettenberg, Ravalli County election administrator speaking for the Montana Association of Clerk and Recorders, illustrated the burden: her county handled about 20,000 absentee ballots recently, which translated into roughly 80,000 individual stamps when multiple ballot types were counted. She said modern security features, secure ballot stock and reconciliation procedures make the old hand-stamp practice unnecessary.

Other local clerks and tribal election officials said hand-stamping consumes staff time best used for other election duties. Senator McCain and proponents framed the bill as an efficiency and uniformity fix, not a change to substantive ballot content.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about implementation and logistics; the sponsor noted the Secretary of State already sets templates and that printed language would preserve uniformity while saving local clerks time. The sponsor closed by urging a due pass; the committee closed the hearing without a formal vote at the session.