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Fast Take
Montana briefly took down its on-line system utilized by residents and navy personnel voting overseas to repair a technical glitch that omitted the Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates. Social media posts baselessly claimed that the Republican secretary of state purposely and illegally omitted the Democrats.
Full Story
Montana has supported the Republican candidate for president in each election since 1996. It doesn’t seem Montana’s presidential voting sample will change in November. Former President Donald Trump leads his Democratic challenger, Vice President Kamala Harris, by about 17 percentage points, based on FiveThirtyEight’s polling common.
However there have been considerations about efforts to forestall voters from efficiently casting a poll throughout this yr’s election.
Earlier this yr, the state’s Supreme Court docket struck down 4 legal guidelines handed in 2021 by the Republican-led state legislature that positioned restrictions on voting. The restrictions — together with largely ending same-day voter registration and eliminating pupil ID playing cards as a type of voter identification — have been thought of “unconstitutional” by the state’s excessive court docket.
Now, some social media posts are making the unfounded declare that the Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, a Republican, purposely and illegally left Harris’ identify off ballots on the digital system utilized by voters residing abroad.
Comic and Harris supporter D.L. Hughley shared a post from Occupy Democrats that learn, “If a state left Trump off the poll, do you suppose the media would reply with a shrug of the shoulders? The Montana secretary of state left Kamala Harris off the poll. … They need to be pressured to begin over, and the secretary of state ought to be jailed.”
A post on Threads stated, partially, “Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen left Kamala Harris’s identify OFF the Montana absentee poll! …Republicans out right here utilizing weaponized incompetence to steal the election.”
Nevertheless, the posts have mischaracterized a glitch in Montana’s digital system for voters eligible to vote early underneath the Uniformed and Abroad Residents Absentee Voting Act, or UOCAVA. Such eligible voters are U.S. residents residing overseas and navy members and their spouses. Montana reported that the state obtained 4,368 UOCAVA ballots within the 2020 election, according to the Election Help Fee.
The technical drawback, which was resolved inside hours, brought about the names of Harris and her operating mate, Tim Walz, to not seem on the digital poll on the primary day of early voting, Sept. 20.
A Sept. 23 press release from Jacobsen’s workplace stated, “No, Montana didn’t depart a candidate off the 2024 Normal Election poll. Opposite to egregious misinformation campaigns circulating on-line, the Montana Secretary of State’s Workplace certified all certified candidates to look on its 2024 Normal Election poll on August 22.”
The press launch went on to say that the “2024 Normal Election formally started [Sept. 20] for eligible voters coated underneath the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). Shortly after going reside at 8 a.m., election officers have been notified about Montana’s Digital Absentee System (EAS), which is the system solely utilized by a small variety of eligible UOCAVA (e.g. Army serving overseas and abroad residents) voters to entry and mark their poll. The Secretary of State’s Workplace took the EAS offline whereas working with the seller till troubleshooting was accomplished.” [Emphasis is theirs.]
By the afternoon of Sept. 20, “the system was again on-line and out there to eligible UOCAVA voters, together with these few voters who might have been impacted,” the assertion stated.
“No [print] ballots have been affected, together with those who will likely be despatched to registered absentee voters and those who will likely be introduced to voters on the polling place on Election Day,” the discharge stated.
The Workplace of the Secretary of State informed us that it had obtained a report on Sept. 20 of a poll not displaying correctly for a UOCAVA voter who was utilizing the digital voting system.
In an e-mail to FactCheck.org on Sept. 25, the workplace stated: “As talked about, the system was taken offline within the morning for troubleshooting with the seller, and it was again on-line within the afternoon. The doubtless impacted UOCAVA voter who submitted a poll has since been contacted, and no additional motion is required.”
The workplace later clarified: “The report we obtained [Sept. 20] from one among our counties acknowledged {that a} voter had known as them and reported that the system had not displayed Vice President Harris (and Tim Walz) underneath the race for President.”
Editor’s be aware: FactCheck.org is one among a number of organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our earlier tales may be discovered here. Fb has no control over our editorial content material.
Sources
270towin.com. “Montana.” Accessed 25 Sep 2024.
5 Thirty Eight. Montana : U.S. Senate : 2024. Accessed 25 Sep 2024.
Montana Democratic Celebration v. Christie Jacobsen. DA 22-0667. Montana Supreme Court docket. 27 Mar 2024.
NBC Montana Workers. “Montana Secretary of State served lawsuit for illegal removal of voter signatures.” NBC Montana. 10 Jul 2024.
Montana Secretary of State. Army & Abroad Voters. “UOCAVA Eligible Voters.” Accessed 26 Sep 2024.
Montana Secretary of State. Bulletin. “No, Montana did not leave a candidate off the 2024 General Election ballot.” 23 Sep 2024.
Montana Secretary of State Workplace. E mail to FactCheck.org. 23 Sep 2024.
Montana Secretary of State Workplace. E mail to FactCheck.org. 25 Sep 2024.
