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Committee hears narrow bill to update primary preparation practices; supporters say it codifies existing work
Summary
Senate Bill 498 would modernize archaic primary preparation procedures tied to party sorting and manual precounts; county election officials and the Montana Association of Clerk and Recorders said it codifies current practice and urged passage.
Senate Bill 498, introduced by Senator Wendy McCamey, drew brief support from county election officials who said the bill updates outdated, time‑consuming primary preparation procedures to reflect current technology.
"This just codifies what we already do," Connor Fitzpatrick of Lewis and Clark County Elections told the committee, supporting the sponsor’s description that modern tabulators render manual party sorting unnecessary in most counties.
Regina Plettenberg of the Montana Association of Clerk and Recorders also testified in favor and said the statute is outdated; opponents did not appear. The committee closed the hearing on SB 498 after brief questions and the sponsor urged a due pass.
