By Josh Margolis
FORT BENTON, Mont. (NMB) – Chouteau County has decided to move ahead with conducting a poll election this November.
There was no formal vote on the matter. Instead, the County Commissioners and the Clerk and Recorder came to an agreement as a group.
Clerk and Recorder Lana Claassen says safety precautions will be in place at the polling places throughout the County.
Claasen says they will need to hire 36 Election Judges to work the polls, as well as additional people to help with sanitizing.
It is unclear if Stone Child College and Fort Benton Elementary will be able to be polling locations this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chouteau County has 3,520 total registered voters, 3,118 of which are active voters. Of those, 1,915 have already requested that they receive an absentee ballot.
Everyone has the option to receive an absentee ballot. Claassen adds that voters can even choose to vote absentee for only this election, if they prefer.
Absentee ballots will be mailed out on October 9th.
Early voting will be available at the County Courthouse beginning on October 2nd.
Any Chouteau County resident with questions about their voting status is urged to contact Claassen by phone at 622-5151.
