Ask a Political Scientist: Registering to vote in Montana

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the MSU Exponent, its editorial staff, advisers, or Montana State University.

Hello Fellow Citizens of MSU-Land! 

This week’s question is: If I have a WUE scholarship (or other out-of-state scholarship), can I register to vote in Montana? How can I register to vote (where, deadlines, what materials do I need, etc.)? Is election day a day off from school? Should election day be a federal holiday? 

Excellent question(s)! And thanks for sending me down a new rabbit hole I discovered, called “The Cost of Voting Index” (COVI), which measures the “time and effort” it takes to vote in each state based on legislation regulating voting accessibility. More on that below! 

Let’s start with the easy answers: WUE scholarship status doesn’t matter. In Montana, to register to vote you have to 1) be a citizen of the U.S., 2) be 18 by election day and 3) be a resident of Montana for at least 30 days before the next election. And yes, a dorm address counts for purposes of showing residency. You’ll need to provide your Montana driver’s license number, OR the last four digits of your Social Security Number, OR check a box indicating you have another valid photo ID (such as Tribal ID, Military ID, passport, student ID) OR some other photo ID with your name combined with a paycheck stub, utility bill, bank statement or other government document that shows your name and address. 

You can download the Montana Voter Registration form from the Secretary of State’s website. At this point, it’s too late to mail it in, since the election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and all registering done within 30 days of the election has to be in-person. But you can obtain and submit forms to the Gallatin County Elections Department in the courthouse at 311 W. Main St. Room 210. 

One very inclusive aspect of Montana’s voter registration laws? You can register ON the day of the election at the Courthouse. One less inclusive aspect: election day 2026 is not an MSU campus holiday. Go to class. But also, vote! 

As to why election day is not a federal holiday in the United States? No one wants that!!! Just kidding. A 2024 Pew poll showed that 78 percent of Democrats and 68 percent of Republicans favored making Election Day a holiday. Critics argue that doing so could hurt the economy (no one working that day!), could hurt poor people (they need that income!), could make voting lines longer (fewer people, shorter lines!), could make it easier for ignorant or apathetic people to vote (if you don’t really care, then your opinion shouldn’t really matter), and it wouldn’t really boost voter turnout anyway. This last point might be valid (the others, I’m less convinced about): would more people vote? Maybe! But there are other ways of increasing access, too, like making absentee or mail-in voting easier (go, Montana!), allowing on-line voter registration, holding elections on the weekend or increasing polling locations and hours. 

This brings me back to COVI. As of 2024, Montana ranked 31st in the nation on how restrictive our state voting laws are. In 2020 we ranked 21st. In between, a series of state laws were passed to more restrictively regulate voting, according to State Court Report. But then in 2024, the Montana Supreme Court struck many of them down, recognizing the disparate negative impact they would have on young voters and Native American voters. But then in 2025 some of those restrictions were introduced again. And then some were struck down again! 

Big picture: you might be wondering whether voting really matters. These ongoing legal battles suggest that at least some people believe it matters a lot! There are many ways to flex your civic muscles, including forms of action and advocacy that don’t require being a legal citizen. But voting is a crucial right of legal citizens to participate in our democracy, and it has the potential to change the direction of politics and policy. So get after it, people! 

Thanks for sending in your questions and keep them coming!