Greetings on this bluebird Election Day, Flathead Valley voters. In this election guide you will find helpful voter information, candidate profiles for local legislative, statewide and congressional races, and analysis of ballot issues and legislative referenda. Please stay tuned to the Flathead Beacon throughout the day for additional election coverage, analysis and live results.
Ballots for Montana’s general midterm election are due today, Tuesday, Nov. 8, by 8 p.m., which means voters with absentee ballots must hand-deliver them to their designated polling place, or to the Flathead County Election Department, which has moved to its new location at the Flathead County North Complex, 290 B North Main Street, Kalispell. Ballots may also be hand-delivered to one of two drive-through drop-off locations, located outside the election office or at the Flathead County Fairgrounds on North Meridian in Kalispell.
For voters who did not receive an absentee ballot, in-person polling places are open throughout the Flathead Valley between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Election Day at: the Flathead County Fairgrounds-Trade Center in Kalispell; Lakeside QRU/Ambulance in Lakeside; Bad Rock Fire Hall in Columbia Falls; Smith Valley Fire Hall in Kalispell; Whitefish Community Center; Columbia Falls High School; Martin City Fire-Lietz Hall; Marion Fire and Auxiliary; Bigfork Library Building; Swan River School; First Baptist Church in Whitefish; and the Whitefish Armory.
Same-day registration is available at the Election Department Office at 290 N. Main St. in Kalispell.
As of Nov. 3, there were 79,416 total registered voters in Flathead County. As of 9:45 a.m. on Election Day, 49,197 absentee ballots have been issued and 29,312 have been returned and accepted.
For more information, visit the Flathead County Election Department website at flathead.mt.gov/election/ or check in with the Montana Secretary of State, where you can view your voter registration status and track your ballot.
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Who Will Represent?
As the Nov. 8 election approaches, the race for Montana’s western congressional district is taking shape with three candidates – Republican Ryan Zinke, Democrat Monica Tranel and Libertarian John Lamb – vying for the historic opportunity to occupy a second seat in the U.S. House of Representatives
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Starkly Different Views Define Senate District 4 Candidates
Democrat Kyle Waterman takes on veteran Republican House Rep. John Fuller
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Homegrown Columbia Falls Candidates Square Off in Historically Red House District 3
Conservative GOP incumbent Braxton Mitchell, 22, garnered 73% of the vote in last June’s primary; Democrat Andrea Getts, 26, hopes to serve the community that shaped her
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Regier Running to Cement Fourth Term in House District 4
Republican Rep. Matt Regier, who has won each of his elections by more than 75% of the vote, faces a relatively unknown Democratic opponent in a conservative district
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Running Against Bennett, Incumbent Fern Seeking a Fourth Term in Whitefish’s House District 5
Rep. Dave Fern has won the Whitefish district by 56%, 69% and 60% of the vote going back to 2016
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House District 7 Offers Choice Between Two Political Newcomers
Republican Courtenay Sprunger faces a challenge from ‘fiscally conservative’ Democrat Angela Kennedy
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House District 8 Voters to Choose Between Republican Falk and Libertarian Daoud
Daoud previously ran for the House District 8 seat in 2018, when he lost to then incumbent John Fuller by 1,700 votes
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Fallon Files as Write-in Candidate for County Commission Seat
After losing the Republican primary by 40 votes to incumbent Pam Holmquist, Jack Fallon has decided to run in November’s general election
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Repke Says Consumers Getting Short Shrift Under Current PSC
Two Flathead Valley residents are vying for an open seat on a five-member oversight commission tasked with regulating public utility companies
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As Montana Voters Prepare to Decide on ‘Born Alive’ Legislative Referendum, Medical Community Expresses Wide Concerns
LR-131 promises to protect Montana’s infants. Yet doctors across the state say it may bring families more harm than healing
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Voters to Decide on Whether to Additionally Tax Marijuana
Local option tax would add additional 3% on top of state taxes for medical and recreational marijuana
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Montana: What to Expect on Election Night
While voters may cast ballots in person on Election Day, most voters have already voted by that time
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