Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen is once again riding bravely into battle against a terrifying threat to our democracy: non-citizens voting. Yes, you read that right. Somewhere out there—possibly hiding behind a grain elevator or lurking near a Flathead Lake fishing dock—an undocumented voter is just waiting to steal your ballot. Or at least that’s the story Jacobsen keeps selling.
Her latest stunt? Sending postcards across Montana that prominently feature President Donald Trump, announcing a shiny new “election security” program. Nothing says “nonpartisan election administration” quite like slapping Donald Trump’s face on official government mail. Subtlety is clearly overrated.
The postcards tout Montana’s participation in federal program that gives election officials access to a database to help verify U.S. citizenship. On paper, that sounds reasonable. In practice, it’s being marketed like we’re under invasion by hordes of fraudulent voters. Never mind that every credible study shows non-citizen voting is vanishingly rare—so rare it’s statistically indistinguishable from Bigfoot sightings.
Which brings us to the next logical step. Expect Jacobsen to dispatch secret agents from her office to all 56 counties to make sure Bigfoot doesn’t try to register to vote. After all, there is far more evidence of Sasquatch roaming Montana than of non-citizens committing voter fraud. At least Bigfoot leaves footprints.
But fear is a powerful political tool, and Jacobsen is wielding it like a campaign prop. Scare the base. Get the headlines. Wrap it all in the soothing phrase “election integrity.” It’s a great strategy if you’re angling for higher office and need to prove your loyalty to Trump-era paranoia.
Meanwhile, here in the real world, Montanans who are actual, living, breathing U.S. citizens still face real barriers to voting. Native Americans on reservations, rural voters, students, seniors—anyone without easy access to a DMV-issued ID or long-distance travel options—keep running into laws and policies that make voting harder than it needs to be. Courts have repeatedly struck down some of these measures because they disproportionately burden Indigenous voters. Apparently, that’s not as exciting as hunting imaginary immigrants.
Jacobsen’s crusade against “voter fraud” isn’t about solving a problem. It’s about creating one—at least in the public imagination. It gives her something to fight, something to fundraise on, and something to plaster on postcards with Trump’s smiling face.
Here’s a radical idea: what if Montana’s Secretary of State spent less time chasing phantoms and more time helping eligible Montanans vote? What if Jacobsen worked as hard to register voters, expand access, and encourage participation as she does to advance Republican efforts to suppress the vote? Jacobsen could energize and transform voting in Montana and could actually strengthen democracy instead of shrinking it. The question is will Jacobsen abandon her search for evidence that Bigfoot voted in Montana and actually do her job getting people registered, informed, and to the polls to vote.
Democracy works best when people vote. It fails when fear, political opportunism, and imaginary enemies keep us from the ballot box. Montana doesn’t need a Bigfoot-style hunt for fraudulent voters. It needs a Secretary of State who is serious about the voters we actually have.
Doug James lives in Billings.