by John Dowd
There may be some confusion approaching the election, and Ravalli County Election Administrator Regina Plettenberg wanted to warn the community. According to her, the hours for the election office during the election will be unchanged from years past.
On May 5, 2025, Senate Bill (SB) 490, sponsored by Senator Mike Cuffe, passed. The bill essentially changed operating hours for election offices. According to Plettenberg, it mainly affected late registration. May 4 was the last day for regular registration. Now, those wishing for late registration must come in person to register to vote. She explained that, “the closer to the election the longer the lines.” This has been a concern for some time, and that was the reasoning behind the bill.
SB 490 states that election offices will be open the Saturday before the election and closed Monday, to give time for votes to come in.
The problem has been a very partisan issue, which eventually gave birth to SB 490. During the process of pushing the bill through, Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobson commented on the long lines for late registration. Plettenberg confirmed this to be true, saying that in Gallatin in 2024, there was a six- to eight-hour line.“There is a problem,” said Plettenberg, “but I don’t know if this bill is the fix.”
One of the main problems with the bill is that it concerns only federal elections and was even taken to court. On May 8, 2026, District Court Judge Adam Larsen issued the preliminary injunction on SB 490, citing those concerns. However, prior to the injunction decision, the Secretary of State’s Office had already sent out mailers informing voters of the change.
Many voters will have received it, but the information on it is incorrect. Plettenberg wanted to confirm that nothing is changing, and the office will not be open that Saturday before. They will stick to their regular hours and dates.
The Ravalli County Elections Office will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except weekends, then 8 a.m. to noon on Monday, June 1. It will also be open on June 2 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Absentees need to come into the office or drop off at the polling office. The Elections Office needs to receive votes by election day; they cannot be postmarked.
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