Primary Election Ballots Mail May 8 to Absentee Voters
Posted on May 08, 2026
The Missoula County Elections Office will mail ballots May 8 to the 63,300 active voters who are registered to vote absentee in the upcoming federal primary election on Tuesday, June 2. Primary federal elections are preliminary elections to select the candidates who will advance to the general federal election in November.
Montana law does not require voters to designate their party affiliation when registering to vote, so all voters will receive three ballots – one for the Democrat, Libertarian and Republican parties. Voters should choose one ballot to vote, place it in the secrecy envelope, then the return envelope, which they will need to sign and write their year of birth on before mailing or dropping off.
If a voter returns more than one ballot, those ballots will be rejected, and their votes will not be counted. Voters should destroy their unvoted ballots. They should not return them to the Elections Office. Voters must also write their birth year and signature on their mail ballot return envelope. Failure to include either detail will result in the ballot being rejected.
"Don't wait," says Elections Administrator Bradley Seaman. "If you haven’t received your absentee ballot by May 15, check your ballot status and voter registration at myvoterpagemt.com or contact our office."
Ballots must be received by the Elections Office by 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 2. Return postage is prepaid; no stamp is needed. The U.S. Postal Service recommends mailing ballots no later than Tuesday, May 26. Postmarked dates are not sufficient.
One important update regarding the 14,368 Democratic Party ballots issued for the State Senator District 50 race: The district number is mistakenly labeled as 45 in the title of the office. Despite this error, the race is included on the proper ballot styles and remains uncontested. The one candidate, Shane Morigeau, is representing the Democratic Party, and this mistake will not impact the election results. Voters can view their sample ballots at myvoterpagemt.com.
Polling places will be open on June 2 for the primary election. Registered voters who have not selected to receive their ballots by mail will instead vote at a polling place on June 2. Residents are encouraged to visit myvoterpagemt.com and click on the "Voter Registration" tab to see whether they are registered to vote absentee.
Due to limitations at previous school locations, the following polling places will be relocated. The voters impacted by these changes have been notified.
- C.S. Porter School: Voters who previously voted here will be relocated to either Orchard Homes Country Life Club, 2537 S. 3rd St. W., or the Missoula County Public Schools Administration Building, 909 South Ave W.
- Lowell School: Voters who previously voted here will be relocated to Front Step Community Land Trust (previously Burns Street Bistro), 1500 Burns St.
Voters may see changes to where they can vote on Election Day. Residents can also visit the Missoula Votes map for directions to find their polling place.
Visit missoulavotes.gov for more information or contact the Elections Office at [email protected] or 406-258-4751. Preliminary results will be posted to missoulavotes.gov after 8 p.m. on election night.
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