by John Dowd, Editor
Last Thursday, Hamilton got a visit from Montana’s Secretary of State, Christi Jacobsen. The event was sponsored by the Council on Aging and Partners in Home Care. She visited three locations, and each one was well-attended. According to one of the organizers, Dyana Canavan, with Partners in Home Care, this event was meant to help network and allow questions to be answered, and networking opportunities to take place. Jacobsen said this was an opportunity to listen, and hear local concerns.
Jacobsen was in town all day, and attended three main events. The first was a visit to Hamilton High School, to meet with the 2026 graduating senior class. There, she read with the students from the U.S. and Montana Constitutions. They also had what she described as a “fireside chat,” where the students asked questions and there were student moderators. According to Jacobsen, the students asked “all really great questions about accountability and transparency.” She was also asked about her path to get to what she does today.
Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen addressing business owners in Hamilton last week. Photo by John Dowd.
Jacobsen said she enjoyed speaking with the students and said it gave her “renewed energy.” She hopes it was a cool way for the students to start their school year. Jacobsen visited Hamilton High School in 2020 when she was recently elected, and was excited to be back.
The next stop was Nap’s Grill, where Jacobsen met on the roof of the restaurant to speak in a special session with around 60 business owners in the Bitterroot Chamber of Commerce. She spoke about how new businesses are flocking to Montana, citing record numbers. She hopes to keep that trend up. Jacobsen said her goals are to keep “trying to cut red tape and alleviate unnecessary burdens along the way,” for businesses.
During the business forum, moderator Cole White, with Partners in Home Care, asked the first of two popular questions posed to Jacobsen. He asked what Jacobsen’s office is doing to support businesses in rural Montana. No matter where in Montana, including Ravalli County, “Main Street is impacted by what comes out of Helena,” said White.
Jacobsen answered, saying there are over 300,000 businesses in Montana, and everything they do affects all of them. She mentioned a business “heat map” on their website, where people can see where the growth is. “It doesn’t matter what type of business,” said Jacobsen. “We support them all.”
One of the things Jacobsen said she is most proud of is how they have cut the new business filing fee, and how they waive the annual report filing fee every year. “It’s not a significant amount of money, but it’s meaningful,” said Jacobsen.
According to Jacobsen, Montana has some of the lowest filing fees in the country. They also have a completely electronic system, meaning business owners can access it 24/7. This also allows changes to be made, and filing to be done to start a new business, within a day or two. This is fast, according to Jacobsen, comparing it to other states where new businesses must wait weeks. In Montana, it can sometimes even be on the same day.
The last stop for Jacobsen was an open community forum, held at the Bedford Building.
The forum saw around 50 people attend, including members of the public, city staff and more. One of the moderators for that event was Cathy Orr, the executive director of the Council on Aging, serving Ravalli County. According to her, “We had an amazing day visiting with Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen. We appreciate the time she and her staff spent answering questions from Hamilton students, business owners and other members of the public today.”
During much of the day, Jacobsen said she expected a lot of questions about elections. According to her, this has been a main concern of people for the last eight or so years. She encourages people to get registered and to “make sure your voting information is accurate. This is how your voice is heard.”
Another thing she highlighted over her time in office were changes they pushed to absentee voting. Now, these votes require a birth year to be added when signing. Jacobsen said this has really helped push these through much more smoothly, and quickly.
Another mention was how her office was awarded for their “Death of a Loved One,” initiative. Their efforts send flyers to funeral homes, and streamline the process for the living to remove their loved ones from the voter rolls. These changes meant less hoops for the family to jump through in their time of grieving, according to Jacobsen. Jacobsen’s office was awarded for this initiative by the National Association of State Election Directors.
Behind a lot of the organization of the event was Canavan. According to her, “being part of the Bitterroot Leadership program gave me the opportunity to meet Montana’s Secretary of State, which sparked thoughtful conversations that turned into collaboration. Through my work with Partners in Home Care, and as a Chamber Ambassador, I’m able to connect people in our valley with resources and talk with representatives who truly want to hear what’s happening in our community, opening doors to mindful business growth.”