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Commission sets hearing on creating appointed county election administrator
Summary
Gallatin County commissioners voted Nov. 25 to adopt a resolution of intent to consider creating an appointed county election administrator and a separate elections department, scheduling a public hearing for Dec. 9 and a potential effective date of Jan. 1, 2027.
Gallatin County commissioners on Nov. 25 adopted a resolution of intent to consider creating an appointed county election administrator and a separate elections department, and set a public hearing for Dec. 9 to gather public comment.
Clerk and Recorder Eric Simrat told the commission the change would allow the county to require minimum education and experience for the position, remove the requirement that the elections official run as a partisan, and improve succession planning. "Appointing an election administrator would professionalize the position," Simrat said, and he cited state statute (transcribed in the packet as "13 1 3 0 1") as authorizing the process.
The move represents a procedural step: the adopted item was a resolution of intent (resolution no. 2025-102) that begins a public process, not a final policy change. Simrat said the commission would hold a second hearing on Dec. 9, accept public comments submitted in person, by mail or email, and could, if it chooses after that hearing, appoint an election administrator effective Jan. 1, 2027, the day after Simrat’s current term would end.
During discussion, commissioners asked whether other Montana counties separate elections administration from clerk and recorder duties; Simrat named several counties that do and do not and explained the practical timing constraint that any change should proceed before the February filing period for candidates if the commission wants the new structure to apply to the next term.
At the public-comment period for this item, Marla Davis, chair of the Gallatin County Republican Central Committee, read a statement from the state party chair arguing the change would reduce accountability. "The move to bureaucratize this position would undermine this power," Davis said, urging the commission to keep the role with the elected clerk and recorder.
The resolution of intent was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. The commission emphasized that the resolution starts a public process and that a formal adoption vote would follow the Dec. 9 hearing.
What happens next: The commission will accept written and in-person public comment ahead of and during the Dec. 9 hearing; if the commission moves forward after that hearing it could appoint an election administrator to take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
