BEFORE THE SECRETARY OF STATE

OF THE STATE OF MONTANA

 

In the matter of the adoption of NEW RULE I pertaining to reporting results during an election

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NOTICE OF ADOPTION

 

TO: All Concerned Persons

 

1. On December 8, 2023, the Secretary of State (SOS) published MAR Notice No. 44-2-270 pertaining to the public hearing on the proposed adoption of the above-stated rule at page 1741 of the 2023 Montana Administrative Register, Issue Number 23.

 

2. On January 5, 2024, a public hearing was held on the proposed adoption of the above-stated rule.

 

           3. The Secretary of State has adopted NEW RULE I (44.3.1801) as proposed.

 

4.  The Secretary of State has thoroughly considered the comment received. A summary of the comment and SOS's response are as follows:

 

COMMENT #1:  A commenter suggested the addition of new language in NEW RULE I(2), that indicates, "In the event that a county election administrator is unable to report results as required, the Secretary of State may authorize the county election administrator to publicly post results forgo the requirement to provide the results to the Secretary of State's election night reporting system prior to publicly posting the results." 

 

RESPONSE #1:  The Secretary of State appreciates the suggestion. However, the SOS does not have the authority to waive or forgo a statutory requirement in administrative rule.

 

 

/s/ AUSTIN MARKUS JAMES                      /s/ CHRISTI JACOBSEN    

Austin Markus James                                   Christi Jacobsen

Rule Reviewer                                              Secretary of State

 

Dated this 16th day of January, 2024.