2020 was the first year Montana voters did not have to pay return postage on their mail-in ballots.
A bill in the House State Administration Committee would keep it that way. House Bill 287, sponsored by Bozeman Democratic Representative Kelly Kortum, would make the Secretary of State’s office pay for ballot return postage.
The bill’s five proponents, including Sam Forstag of the American Civil Liberties Union, said having paid postage on ballots would make it easier for low-income and minority Montanans to vote.
“Not having to drive to your post office to get those stamps to make sure you can cast your ballot can be something that really impacts whether or not someone decides to cast their vote,” Forstag says.
Dana Corson is the director of elections and voter services at the Montana Secretary of State’s office. He was the bill’s lone opponent, and said he didn’t want his office to pay for the bill.
The bill asks for an appropriation from the general fund to pay for the postage.
The committee is expected to vote on the bill Wednesday, Feb. 10.
James Bradley is a reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation.
