Nearly two years after Kalispell, Montana, changed voting precinct boundaries, the Flathead County Elections Department used the old information in mailing out absentee ballots.
“The Flathead County Election Office acknowledges this oversight raises concerns regarding a safe and accurate election process,” according to a press release from Flathead County Public Information Officer Kim Grieser. “The elections department is fully aware of the gravity of the situation and is unwaveringly committed to ensuring error-free execution of our elections.”
“Going forward, the County will continue to review, check, and double-check procedures. We will implement updates to prevent a recurrence of this incident. This serves as a poignant reminder of the paramount importance of maintaining the public’s trust in our electoral system and upholding the fundamental principles of fairness and transparency in all we do.”
The problem occurred in Wards 1, 2, and 3, each of which had contested races.
The issue did not occur in Ward 4, where the candidate ran unopposed.
Election Manager Adrienne Chmelik offered an explanation for the incident.
“In late 2021, Kalispell changed its ward boundaries, and that didn’t get plugged into our precinct maps. So when we loaded the new ward boundaries, some voters didn’t get loaded into their correct wards. We’re working with our GIS department to layer in different maps, but it’s going to take time,” she said, adding, “We are doing out best to figure out what happened.”
“I don’t think the county has been in this position before nor have we, so can’t really say what we will do. But right now, we’re focused on tallying every vote,” Chmelik stated.
