Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 13-13-201 (2026)

Voting By Absentee Ballot -- Procedures

✓ current as of May 2026
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TITLE 13. ELECTIONS

CHAPTER 13. ELECTION PROCEDURE

Part 2. Procedure for Electors Absent From the Polling Place

Voting By Absentee Ballot -- Procedures

13-13-201. Voting by absentee ballot -- procedures. (1) A legally registered elector or provisionally registered elector is entitled to vote by absentee ballot as provided for in this part.

(2) The elector may vote absentee by:

(a) marking the ballot in the manner specified;

(b) placing the marked ballot in the secrecy envelope, free of any identifying marks;

(c) placing the secrecy envelope containing one ballot for each election being held in the signature envelope;

(d) executing the affirmation printed on the signature envelope;

(e) providing the elector's date of birth on the signature envelope; and

(f) returning the signature envelope with all appropriate enclosures by regular mail, postage paid, or by delivering it to:

(i) the election office;

(ii) a polling place within the elector's county;

(iii) pursuant to 13-13-229, the absentee election board or an authorized election official; or

(iv) in a mail ballot election held pursuant to Title 13, chapter 19, a designated place of deposit within the elector's county.

(3) Except as provided in 13-21-206 and 13-21-226, in order for the ballot to be counted, each elector shall return it in a manner that ensures the ballot is received prior to 8 p.m. on election day.

(4) A provisionally registered elector may also enclose in the outer signature envelope a copy of the elector's photo identification showing the elector's name. The photo identification may be but is not limited to a valid driver's license, a school district or postsecondary education photo identification, or a tribal photo identification. If the provisionally registered elector does not enclose a photo identification, the elector may enclose a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, notice of confirmation of voter registration issued pursuant to 13-2-207, government check, or other government document that shows the elector's name and current address.

History: En. Sec. 119, Ch. 368, L. 1969; R.C.M. 1947, 23-3701; amd. Sec. 116, Ch. 571, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 239, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 242, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 151, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 32, Ch. 414, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 25, Ch. 475, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 286, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 273, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 101, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 36, Ch. 242, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 139, L. 2013; amd. Sec. 24, Ch. 336, L. 2013; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 472, L. 2025.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2020–2024 · leading case: Democratic Party v. Jacobsen, 2024 MT 66 (Mont. 2024).
Democratic Party v. Jacobsen, 2024 MT 66 (Mont. 2024). · cites it 6× “Thus, it does not apply to mailed-in ballots, which are governed by § 13-13-201, MCA, and allows “legally registered elector[s] or provisionally registered elector[s]” to vote their absentee ballot by mail.”
Dnc v. Katie Hobbs (9th Cir. 2020). “Montana Mont. Code Ann. § 13-13-201 (West 2019): (1) A legally registered elector or provisionally registered elector is entitled to vote by absentee ballot as provided for in this part.”
— Mont. Code Ann. § 13-13-201(1) — 1 case
Democratic Party v. Jacobsen, 2024 MT 66 (Mont. 2024). “Thus, it does not apply to mailed-in ballots, which are governed by § 13-13-201, MCA, and allows “legally registered elector[s] or provisionally registered elector[s]” to vote their absentee ballot by mail.”
— Mont. Code Ann. § 13-13-201(4) — 1 case
Democratic Party v. Jacobsen, 2024 MT 66 (Mont. 2024). “Thus, it does not apply to mailed-in ballots, which are governed by § 13-13-201, MCA, and allows “legally registered elector[s] or provisionally registered elector[s]” to vote their absentee ballot by mail.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.