HELENA – Montana voters have returned a record number of absentee ballots for the general election.
The Secretary of State’s Office says 303,321 people had requested absentee ballots through Friday and 239,357, or nearly 79 percent, had been returned.
Elections deputy Lisa Kimmett tells Lee Newspapers of Montana it’s a record number of ballots sent out and returned.
Through last Friday, 675,038 Montanans had registered to vote.
Kimmett says officials are expecting a high voter turnout because it is a presidential election year and there are close races for a seat in the U.S. Senate and for governor.