Campaign 2012

5,000 MT ballots have yet to be counted

Posted: Nov 12, 2012 10:00 PM by Marnee Banks (marnee@kxlh.com)

In Montana there are still more than 5,000 ballots which are not yet counted.

According to state law, a voter whose identity or eligibility to vote has not been verified can cast a provisional ballot. These ballots are not counted on election day but instead will be counted this week.

In total, voters cast more then 5,300 provisional ballots this election.

In Cascade County there were 287 provisional voters.

Missoula and Gallatin counties have the largest number of provisional ballots at 1,900 & 780 respectively.

The non-profit organization Forward Montana specifically targets young people and works to get them engaged in the political process.

Executive director Andrea Marcoccio says because college students are largely a transient population many of the provisional ballots in these two counties could be attributed to the major college campuses.

This year Forward Montana registered more than 11,000 people between the ages of 18 and 30.

"Young people haven't built the habit of voting. Maybe they are 17, maybe they know it's important but they haven't had the chance or opportunity to vote yet. So for Forward Montana, we want to make sure that young people know how powerful their voice can be," Marcoccio says.

She says while all provisional ballots can't be attributed to college students, the youth vote is a critical voting block and made a huge impact on the results of this year's election.

By law, counties can start counting the provisional ballots Tuesday, November 13th and all the votes must be tallied by mid-November.