No need for costly special session

by Rep. David Bedey, Hamilton

Ten of my colleagues have requested a special session of the Legislature for the purpose of creating a “special select committee” to investigate election fraud that some claim is rampant in Montana. If approved, this endeavor will cost taxpayers anywhere from a half-million to a million dollars.

If there existed credible evidence of widespread election fraud in Montana or if actions were not already underway to improve election security, then expending public funds might be warranted.  But neither of these conditions has been met. Montana has a sound election system of which its citizens can be proud.  Creating an election fraud tribunal would be a waste of taxpayer dollars.

There is an alternative for enhancing election integrity that costs taxpayers nothing. The Montana Association of Counties along with the Montana Association of Clerks and Recorders has organized a workgroup that is seeking common sense ways to further improve our already well-administered elections. Comprised of county election administrators, representatives for the secretary of state and county commissioners, and legislators from both parties, this workgroup will be considering legislation for the 2023 session. This is the Montana way—citizens with differing perspectives coming together to find solutions.

I have closely scrutinized my county’s election process.  Several other legislators have done the same. I found stringent confirmation of voter identity, scrupulous ballot security, and vote-counting machines that cannot be connected to the internet and thus cannot be “hacked.” Anyone who objectively evaluates their county’s election process will surely come away impressed with Montana’s election system and the local officials who make it work.

Of course, no practical election system can be absolutely immune from fraud.  Accordingly, the 2021 Legislature passed several election integrity bills, two of which merit mention here. SB 170—already in effect—requires annual, rather than biennial, maintenance of voter rolls. And per HB 530, Montana’s secretary of state is currently conducting a comprehensive review of election security across the state.  She can do her job without the help of a costly committee.

Much of the impetus for the special session concerns alleged irregularities in Missoula County’s 2020 election. Important questions remain unanswered. On March 28th, the Missoula County Republican Central Committee and local election officials will publicly reexamine this issue and settle the matter—one way or the other.

A small cabal of legislators obviously intend to use the “special select committee” to peddle “scientific” evidence of nationwide manipulation of the 2020 election. Virtually every Montana county is implicated in a plot that requires vote-counting machines connected to the internet and county officials willing to create fraudulent paper ballots. But Montana’s machines aren’t connected to the internet and several counties don’t use machines at all. And do you really believe your county’s election officials would collude in such a scheme? Not a single state attorney general in the country joined a federal lawsuit based on this conspiracy theory, which has also been debunked by scholars at the conservative Hoover Institution. Furthermore, our neighbors in Idaho have conducted recounts that conclusively repudiated it. It is past time to let this go.

America faces a crisis of confidence in the legitimacy of its elections. I join my fellow Montanans who are rightfully concerned about significant election fraud that may be occurring elsewhere. But our state’s system is sound and is being constantly improved. A “special select committee” promoting baseless conspiracies may further someone’s political career but would recklessly undermine the public’s trust in Montana’s elections. This constitutes an attack on the integrity of Montana’s election system that I am duty bound to resist. I ask my fellow legislators to do likewise.