Gallatin County Voters Face May 5th Deadline For School and Special District Elections

Bozeman, Mont. — Gallatin County election officials are preparing for school and special district elections set for May 5, with ballots scheduled to be mailed out on Friday, April 17.  

At the Gallatin County Elections Office, officials are getting ready to send more than 77 thousand ballots to voters across multiple counties tied to those races.  

“We’re going to be mailing roughly 77,500 ballots out to voters not just in Gallatin County, but also in adjoining Jefferson, Broadwater and Madison counties for other elections, school elections and special district elections across county boundaries,” Gallatin County Election Administrator Eric Semerad said.  

The elections for schools and special districts throughout Montana include board of trustee races and levy questions for local districts.  

Semerad also confirmed that among electing trustees for boards and levies for districts, ballots will cover the creation of new districts in Big Sky and the Hebgen Basin area.  

“Electing trustees for their boards and also running levies for those districts. There’s a couple of elections we’re having where they’re creating new districts in Big Sky and down in Hebgen Basin area,” Semerad said.  

Semerad explained that voters needed to pay close attention when filling out their ballot return envelopes. He said each voter must sign the envelope and include their birth year in the space provided.  

This is a change to mail-in ballots that came back in October 2025. House Bill 7-19 is a new law in Montana that requires voters to sign their birth date on the return envelope when filling out their ballots. If voters do not sign their birth date on their envelope, their ballot will not be counted in the election.  

“Make sure that when you sign your envelope that you also include the year of your birth on there, and there is a spot for that on the envelope that must be filled in. If it’s not completed, we’ll be contacting you, and your ballot won’t be counted if it's not remedied,” Semerad said.  

This election is mail-in only, which gives registered voters the option to return their completed ballots to the Gallatin County Elections Office by 8:00 p.m. on May 5.  

There will also be a drop box that voters can turn their ballots into, outside of the Gallatin County Elections office in Bozeman at 311 W. Main Street.  

Voters can check their registration and ballot status at myvoterpagemt.com.