Happy Monday and happy June, Beacon readers! Welcome to another week — and a busy one at that. Mariah Thomas here to take you through today’s Daily Roundup.

Today’s not my usual newsletter day, but I wanted to pop in to give you all one last, big, important reminder that TOMORROW is PRIMARY ELECTION DAY.

Primary elections give voters a chance to weigh in on which candidates in each of three parties — Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians — move forward to the general election in Montana. Montana has partially open primaries, which means you can choose which ballot you’d like to vote. Importantly, you can only vote one of the three ballots!

For Flathead Valley voters, the primary comes with a chance to weigh in on who moves forward to the general election in November in several local legislative races, the county commissioner’s race and the county clerk and recorder’s race. Not to mention, it also marks an opportunity to make your voice heard on who should run in each party to represent Montana’s western district in the U.S. Congress. and in the U.S. Senate. Both the Democratic and Republican sides of the aisle have deep benches of candidates vying for the chance to replace U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke and U.S. Sen. Steve Daines. And, Republican voters will choose Flathead County’s next sheriff.

Wondering about the candidates? Well, lucky for you — the Beacon’s got you covered.

A few weeks back, we published our 2026 primary election guide.

It’s got plenty of analysis on the dynamics at play across several races in the county, along with in-depth stories on the federal races and Q & As with legislative candidates in competitive primary contests across the valley. You can read it here: https://flatheadbeacon.com/2026/06/01/2026-primary-election-a-northwest-montana-voters-guide-to-local-and-statewide-races/ — or, it’s also pinned on our home page and at the bottom of this newsletter.

There’s nothing I believe in more than everyone having the opportunity to cast an informed vote, and I hope this guide helps you to do just that.

And speaking of casting an informed vote… tomorrow’s the day to do it.

If you sent in your absentee ballot already, you can double check that it’s been received on the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page. (I voted absentee, and mine was accepted last week!)

If you have an absentee ballot that you’ve received and filled out at home, but haven’t turned in at this point, make sure that you return it to the Flathead County Elections Office before 8 p.m. tomorrow for it to count. That office is located at 290 B N. Main St. in Kalispell. If you are turning in an absentee ballot, make sure that you’ve only returned one of the three ballots you received, and that you signed your secrecy envelope and included your birth year!

Thought you were supposed to receive an absentee ballot that never got to you? First, double check that you are, in fact, registered to vote absentee through the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page. If you click on your federal election ballot, it will tell you your absentee status. If it says that yes, you are registered to vote absentee, and your ballot never got there, don’t panic! You can still head to your election office at any point before 8 p.m. on Election Day and receive a ballot.

If you plan to vote in person, make sure you grab a valid form of ID (driver’s license, tribal ID, passport or student ID) and visit your polling place any time between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. to cast your ballot. If you have an ID that isn’t on that list, make sure you bring a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or a government document confirming your name and address. Here’s a list of Flathead County’s polling places: https://flatheadcounty.gov/application/files/4017/7930/1160/Flathead_County_2026_Polling_Places.pdf. If you don’t know what precinct you live in, you can check that on the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page as well.

Not registered to vote, but still want to participate? You’re not too late! While the 2025 legislature did pass a law limiting voter registration on Election Day, it was blocked in May by a Lewis and Clark County district court judge. That means that, if you’re in line to cast your ballot at your polling place by 8 p.m. tomorrow, you should still be able to register to vote and participate in this year’s primary. And, since you’re voting in person, you’ll need to present a valid form of ID.

Again, I highly encourage each of you to get out and make your voice heard in this primary election. I could hop on a soapbox about how it’s our civic duty and how lucky we are to get a voice in who’s running our country, state and community — but I’ll save that speech for another newsletter!

For now, that’s all I’ve got. Happy voting! Be sure to follow along with us tomorrow for results too. And make sure you stick around for the rest of the Daily Roundup.