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Some races still uncalled
After a jam-packed Tuesday evening full of outcomes in the U.S. Senate race, Supreme Court contest and ballot initiative votes, a few races remained uncalled Wednesday morning.
The Associated Press has not yet determined the winner in the Western U.S. House race between Sam Forstag and Aaron Flint, though Forstag declared victory and Flint conceded Tuesday evening. Winners in the two Public Service Commission districts also remained uncalled, while Republican candidates hold leads in both races.
We’ll continue to share updates here as news comes in.
— Mara Silvers
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Quiet morning in Gallatin County
Provisional election judge Roger Matthew prepares for his next voter at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds Tuesday morning. As voters trickled in, election officials chatted, snacked and worked on a puzzle to pass the time. During the first two hours of the day, only a handful of residents occupied voting stalls at a time in one of four rooms set up for voting.
— Nick Mott, reporting from Bozeman
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Early absentee returns
As of 4:19 a.m. Tuesday, just over 62% of the 532,313 absentee ballots mailed to Montana voters had been returned, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s Office. The final absentee return rate in 2024 was just over 70%, down from about 80% in 2022. We’ll be watching whether that decline continues, even as absentee voting has become increasingly common in Montana since the early 2000s.
— Jacob Olness
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Late night election results likely
First reports of election results could arrive hours after polls close in some of Montana’s high-voting counties. State law bars counties that count absentee ballots early from reporting results until their last voter has finished voting. The restriction, which was also in place in 2024, dates to a 2023 law governing counties that begin counting absentee ballots the day before Election Day.
Election administrators have said that long lines of people waiting to register and vote at 8 p.m. could delay the first results late into the night.
— Tom Lutey
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Polls are open
Poll have opened statewide. You can find a polling station near you via the Montana Secretary of State website. State law requires polls to operate from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. If you’re in line to vote before the end of that window, you’ll be able to cast your vote no matter how late.
— Zeke Lloyd