Committee hears bill to require pre-certification county election reports for Legislature

Sen. Theresa Manzella presented Senate Bill 440 to the House State Administration Committee, saying the bill would require the Secretary of State to create a uniform template for county election reconciliation reports and to submit those reports to the Legislative Service Division and post them publicly before state certification.

Manzella said the change is designed to give the Legislature and election officials an earlier look at county-level totals "prior to the certification taking place" so discrepancies can be addressed. She described the timeline in statute — county canvass at about 14 days and state certification at about 27 days — and said the bill would provide reconciliation reports roughly in the middle of that window so legislative leaders can be "read in" if there are problems such as the Butte-Silver Bow example referenced.

Representative Cochran asked whether technical notes in the amendment applied to the amendment or the underlying bill; Manzella said the amendment added a statewide-canvas limitation so the requirement applies to federal and statewide races that go through the statewide canvass process, not to municipal or school elections. Representative Perry and others asked who would receive and host the reports; Manzella said reports would go to the Legislative Service Division, be distributed to all legislators, posted to a statewide election website, and presented to the State Administration and Veteran Affairs interim committee after the statewide or federal primary or general election.

Regina Plettenberg, online, reiterated that many counties already perform reconciliation spreadsheets and said standardizing the reporting and having Secretary of State training would reduce extra work. The committee asked additional technical questions and Manzella and staff agreed to follow up on precise language and distribution logistics. The hearing closed without a committee vote.