It isn’t too late to register to vote! Tips and tricks for making it to the ballot box

When election season comes around, some important questions often come to mind for first-time voters. Am I registered to vote in Montana? Can I vote in Montana as an out-of-state student? Can I still vote if the mail-in registration date has passed? Well, Bobcats, don’t worry — the Exponent is here to help clear your path to the polls.

To vote in any U.S. election, you need to register first. Voter registration ensures that only people who meet certain requirements are allowed to vote. In Montana, you can vote as long as you are a U.S. citizen older than 18, have lived in Montana for at least 30 days before the election and are not currently serving time for a felony charge. When you register to vote, you provide your name, address and other identifying information like your Social Security Number (SSN) or driver's license number and date of birth. This data helps local election staff and government officials verify your eligibility and assign you to a voting district.

To be allowed to register and vote in Montana, you must have been living at a documented residential address for at least 30 days before the election. Living in a dorm counts as being a resident for the purpose of voting, so you can register and cast your ballot in Montana even if you’re from another state, as long as you don’t plan to vote there as well. You can even be registered in another state and still register and vote in Montana. Registering to vote in two places isn’t illegal, but actually votingin two places is.

At this point, the deadline for mail-in registration has passed. However, for those who aren’t registered yet, fret not — Montana allows in-person voter registration up to and including Election Day, ensuring that nothing gets between you and the ballot box.

Voters can register in the days before Election Day at the Gallatin County Courthouse’s Elections Office, located at 311 W Main Street in Room 210. You can even register to vote on Election Day at the same location. Voter registration will require either a Montana Driver’s License or Montana state ID card number;the last 4 digits of your SSN or another form of ID entirely. Acceptable forms of ID include a photo ID that shows your name, or an ID that shows your name and current address. These can be documents like a Tribal ID, a recent paystub, a utility bill, a bank statement, your student ID or another government document issued in your name, according to Forward Montana.

Once registered, you can then vote immediately. Head to the Gallatin County Courthouse any time between now and 8 p.m. on Nov. 5 to register.

If you cannot provide the appropriate IDs to register, you can still cast what is known as a provisional ballot which will only count if you provide one of the aforementioned identifying items to the county courthouse before 5 p.m. on Nov. 6.

No matter what, all ballots must be received by the Elections Office no later than 8 p.m. on Nov. 5. The deadline has also passed to return absentee ballots by mail, so if you were issued an absentee ballot, you must return it to the courthouse in person. You can either drop it off at your designated polling location on Election Day between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. or give it to the Gallatin County Elections Department during their regular business hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

To check your registration status or to find out where your polling place is, visit the state’s election website at https://prodvoterportal.mt.gov/WhereToVote.aspx.

To find out more about the specific measures and candidates on the ballot for the Nov. 5 general election, visit https://votemt.gov/ and keep reading this edition to learn more.