3 ways MTFP’s 2026 Election Guide can help you cast your ballot

With election season in full swing, Montana Free Press is pleased to launch the 2026 Election Guide, a nonpartisan resource for information about Montana’s candidates for federal, statewide and legislative offices.

This resource will be front and center at Montana Free Press through the distribution of primary ballots in early May, the June 2 primary election and the Nov. 3 general election. It’s designed to make accurate information about candidates, political issues and the voting process freely accessible to Montanans far and wide. Here are three ways you can use the election guide to help inform your choices.

1 Type in your address to find the races you can vote for. (My address tells me I’ll be voting in Montana House District 82 and Senate District 41. Only the state Senate district race has a competitive primary on the June 2 ballot, between two Democratic candidates.)

I can also vote in the race for U.S. Senate, a contest decided by voters statewide. For the U.S. House, I’ll be voting for the Eastern District, which has only a Democratic primary, but will have a Republican, a Democrat, a Libertarian and possibly an independent on the general election ballot. Public Service Commission District 5 will give me an opportunity to vote in a three-way Republican primary, and I can vote for one of two candidates for the state Supreme Court — though both candidates will emerge from their nonpartisan primary to appear on the general election ballot, because Montana Supreme Court races advance the top-two vote-earning candidates from the primary to the general election. 

2 Once you know who’s running in your races, the 2026 Election Guide can help you dig deeper into the candidates. Consider the race for the U.S. Senate seat that Sen. Steve Daines decided at the last minute not to try to keep. In that changed landscape, Montanans — who can vote in any one party’s primary they wish — will be considering three contested primaries: Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian. 

There’s also an independent candidate who won’t participate in a primary, but seems likely to gather enough qualifying signatures to appear on the general election ballot. That’s 11 candidates, many of whom, there’s a good chance, you’ve never heard of. 

If you click any candidate’s name in the Election Guide, you’ll find a dedicated page with links to their campaign channels and, for federal and statewide candidates, their responses to an MTFP-exclusive questionnaire. You’ll also find links to MTFP coverage of their race as well as federal candidates’ campaign finance reports.

3 Click the “Voting Info” tab for up-to-date information about when — and how — to vote. Did you know mail voters now have to write their year of birth in addition to their signature on their ballot envelope? 

Did you know Montana now requires a photo ID to vote in person? Do you know the new hours for late and Election Day voter registration? The 2026 Election Guide is here to remind you of those essential rules to make sure your ballot counts. 

We’ll be updating the 2026 Election Guide as independent candidates and constitutional initiatives do or don’t qualify for the ballot, and as primary election results narrow the field heading into November. 

Please contact MTFP data reporter and news product designer Jacob Olness with questions, corrections or suggestions at [email protected].