Montana’s election season has gotten off to a rocky start after absentee voters realized Kamala Harris was not a listed candidate on their ballot.

The state was forced to shut down its electronic absentee voter system after it went live on September 20 when a voter reported that there was no option to vote for the vice president.

Max Himsl, a Montana voter living in the UK, reported the issue when trying to fill out his ballot online, according to the Daily Inter Lake, a local newspaper. He reported it right away to the Flathead County Election Department on Friday, September 20.

As a precaution the Secretary of State’s office, run by Republican Christi Jacobson, took down the electronic absentee system for troubleshooting, although it insisted that very few voters had been affected by this issue.


🗳️ Register to vote: https://vote.gov/

  • MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    And so it begins, GOP election officials are gonna be getting up to all sorts of shit this cycle. I really hope we can turn out enough to make their efforts fruitless.

    • cranakis@reddthat.com
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      1 month ago

      Overwhelming numbers. Polls and national stories need to be ignored and we just need to get every single person we can to vote.

  • Infynis@midwest.social
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    1 month ago

    Next, they say that all ballots that were already submitted have to be counted as-is. Then later, it’s revealed that there were Kamala Harris write-ins submitted during this time, but rather than being counted, they were discarded as invalid

    • andyburke@fedia.io
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      1 month ago

      Hey, you may need a break! We don’t need to write the fanfic for the other side, that’s usually a sign of burnout.

      You should rest up then get back to it when you can be less defeatist. We need you.

      • modifier@lemmy.ca
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        1 month ago

        People are downvoting you but I could definitely see myself needing a reality check like this in the next weeks, or probably days.

        • Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          They’re not “guaranteed” not to win. Technically, 100 million people could spontaneously wake up and decide that they all want to vote for Tom Hanks as President of the United States. So long as Tom Hanks meets the qualifications for President, he wins.

          Of course, I have a better chance of winning the lottery every day until Christmas, and get blown by every NFL cheerleader in alphabetical order than of that ever happening. but our constitution does allow for the possibility.

    • sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz
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      1 month ago

      This is the chaos the GOP has been planting in different states so that they can delegitimize their states voting to justify sending “alternate” electors.

  • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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    1 month ago

    At this point the GOP will just keep trying crap like this and people will just allow it all … until eventually, the right just gets tired of playing around and just takes power out right because they know no one will stop them

    • andyburke@fedia.io
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      1 month ago

      If you really feel this way, you’re too tired and need a break. Others can and will spell you.

      You should take some time to recover and avoid posting defeatist stuff like this.

      Hope you feel better!

      • BallsandBayonets@lemmings.world
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        1 month ago

        I also feel this way, I would like that break you’re talking about. When can I expect my check for 12-48 months worth of living expenses and the ticket to a country that isn’t one election away from fascism?

  • PhAzE@lemmy.ca
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    1 month ago

    Easy, mark all ballots already filled out as invalid because the choices weren’t properly given. Less R ballots to count.

  • kescusay@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Has anyone done a systematic study on ballot bullshit like this to determine if it is ever in the other direction, or is it always, without exception, done to harm Democrats?

      • unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz
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        1 month ago

        in case you’re having trouble understanding the population of Montana, I’ll post a quote from Wikipedia below.

        Montana, also. has not politically been absolutely Red or Blue. I’m not familiar with the politics of the state, but it is not historically Red or Blue, though I’m pretty sure it’s voted for Trump, and it’s previous Gov was a two-term Democrat. Current Gov is GOP Gianforte. Also sitting U.S. Montana Senator Jon Tester is a Dem.

        People have been living in Montana for thousands of years. Ask them about immigrants. And I don’t mean just ask the people running casinos.

        The United States Census Bureau states that the population of Montana was 1,132,812 on July 1, 2023, a 4.5% increase since the 2020 census.[191] The 2020 census put Montana’s population at 1,084,225. During the first decade of the new century, growth was mainly concentrated in Montana’s seven largest counties, with the highest percentage growth in Gallatin County, which had a 32.9% increase in its population from 2010 to 2020. The city having the largest percentage growth was Kalispell, with 40.1%, and the city with the largest increase in actual residents was Billings, with an increase in population of 12,946 from 2010 to 2020. >>

        • pumpkinseedoil@sh.itjust.works
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          1 month ago

          People have been living in Montana for thousands of years. Ask them about immigrants.

          The ones who’ve been living there for thousands of years, or rather the very few that are left, probably aren’t too fond of it.

          Or did you mean to write hundreds?

          • unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz
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            1 month ago

            sure. the indigenous people were just genocided, i guess, forced out or killed, I don’t even know. hopefully the headline in question doesn’t mean someone is trying to throw all elections in the state into question. it’s early still.

  • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works
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    1 month ago

    Talk about you had one job. It’s a fucking two party dualopoly and you still f’d it up. Wreaks of intent.

    Also way to go Montana for having online voting though. How many states have this now?

    • explodicle@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      Look, it’s a one-party system, be realistic. Before running an obvious spoiler you should focus on winning the Republican primary and getting more people in the state legislature.

    • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      I’m going to give you “dualopoly,” it’s usually duopoly but I like yours.

      But the omission “reeks” of evil intent, as in we smell a rat. It will “wreak” (cause with terrible consequences) havoc on the election.

      Obviously it doesn’t really matter in Lemmy comments, but in case you want to use the words in a more formal situation, the more you know 🌈.

  • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    electronic absentee voter system

    the Secretary of State’s office, run by Republican Christi Jacobson

    All you need to know right there.