POLISCOPE
Back to bills
Part ofElections →

The civic record

Read. Follow. Verify.
SB 58MONTANASession 2025State BillSigned into law
Enacted

Montana requires election administrators to investigate and report vote reconciliation discrepancies

Original title: Revise vote count procedures

Last action · April 18, 2025: Chapter Number AssignedSponsor: Mike Cuffe

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Does

Montana requires election administrators to investigate and report to the board of county whenever a counting board cannot reconcile the total number of ballots with the record of accepted ballots.

Why it matters

Changes accountability requirements for local election officials by mandating formal documentation and investigation when ballot counts do not match voter records.

Background
  • SB 58 was introduced by Senator Mike Cuffe at the request of the Senate Select Committee on Elections during the 2025 Montana legislative session. context

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

election administrators

Must conduct investigations and submit formal reports when ballot counts fail to reconcile with pollbook records.

Directly affected

counting board judges

Must sign written reports detailing missing or excess ballots when counts do not reconcile.

Directly affected

board of county canvassers

Must receive and review investigation reports regarding ballot count discrepancies from the election administrator.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if the vote counting board cannot make the ballot count match the pollbook?
The board must submit a written report to the election administrator detailing the number of missing or excess ballots. If unexplained, the election administrator must investigate and report to the board of county .
Are multiple ballots allowed in a single envelope?
Generally no, enclosing more than one ballot in a single signature or secrecy envelope makes them invalid, unless there are multiple simultaneous elections or the envelope contains household ballots, each in its own secrecy envelope with a valid signature.
When does an unmarked ballot get counted?
An unmarked ballot is void and cannot be counted unless all judges on the board agree that the mark was missing due to an election official's error.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Follow the record

Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

36 actions
  1. Apr 18, 2025Senate
    Chapter Number Assigned
  2. Apr 17, 2025SenateEnrolled
    (S) Signed by Governor
  3. Apr 8, 2025Senate
    (S) Transmitted to Governor
  4. Apr 7, 2025House
    (H) Signed by Speaker
  5. Apr 1, 2025Senate
    (S) Signed by President
  6. Mar 28, 2025Senate
    (S) Returned from Enrolling
Show 30 earlier actions
  1. Mar 26, 2025Senate
    (S) Sent to Enrolling
  2. Mar 26, 2025House
    (H) 3rd Reading
  3. Mar 26, 2025House
    (H) Scheduled for 3rd Reading
  4. Mar 25, 2025House
    (H) 2nd Reading
  5. Mar 25, 2025House
    (H) Scheduled for 2nd Reading
  6. Mar 20, 2025HouseCommittee
    (H) Committee Report
  7. Mar 20, 2025HouseCommittee
    (H) Committee Executive Action
  8. Feb 12, 2025House
    (H) Hearing
  9. Feb 7, 2025House
    (H) 1st Reading
  10. Feb 7, 2025HouseCommittee
    (H) Referred to Committee
  11. Feb 6, 2025Senate
    (S) Transmitted to House
  12. Feb 6, 2025Senate
    (S) 3rd Reading
  13. Feb 6, 2025Senate
    (S) Scheduled for 3rd Reading
  14. Feb 5, 2025Senate
    (S) 2nd Reading
  15. Feb 5, 2025Senate
    (S) Scheduled for 2nd Reading
  16. Feb 3, 2025SenateCommittee
    (S) Committee Report
  17. Jan 31, 2025SenateCommittee
    (S) Committee Executive Action
  18. Jan 14, 2025Senate
    (S) Hearing
  19. Jan 14, 2025Senate
    (S) Hearing Canceled
  20. Jan 7, 2025SenateCommittee
    (S) Referred to Committee
  21. Jan 6, 2025Senate
    (S) 1st Reading
  22. Dec 16, 2024SenateIntroduced
    (S) Introduced
  23. Dec 16, 2024House
    (LC) Draft Delivered to Requester
  24. Dec 9, 2024House
    (LC) Draft Ready for Delivery
  25. Dec 7, 2024House
    (LC) Draft in Assembly
  26. Dec 6, 2024House
    (LC) Draft in Final Drafter Review
  27. Dec 5, 2024House
    (LC) Draft in Input/Proofing
  28. Dec 5, 2024House
    (LC) Draft in Edit
  29. Dec 5, 2024House
    (LC) Draft in Legal Review
  30. Nov 29, 2024House
    (LC) Drafter Assigned

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Sponsors

Mike CuffeSenate · District 1RepublicanPrimary sponsor

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Mandatory Discrepancy Investigations

The bill shifts informal ballot reconciliation practices into a mandatory investigative and reporting procedure involving the board of county canvassers.

Senate Select Committee on ElectionsMike Cuffe

Connected Entities

Senate Select Committee on Elections, Mike Cuffe
OrganizationSenate Select Committee on Elections“Requested the bill”Map →
PersonMike Cuffe“Republican Senator, District 1, bill sponsor”Map →

Sources

Open source document

bills.legmt.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance60
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy15
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz25
    Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools

Share or embed this record

POLISCOPE publisher tools

Share or embed this record