Montana had distributed 528,918 ballots as of Friday morning, with 52% returned and 34% of registered voters having cast ballots. The pace matched the same point in the 2022 general election but remained below the comparable stage of the 2024 presidential election.

Turnout Comparisons

Montana generally records lower participation in midterm elections than in presidential contests. In 2022, the most recent Montana general election without a presidential race, 51% of early ballots had been received by the Friday before Election Day, while turnout stood at 34% at that point.

Final turnout in the 2022 election reached 61%. By comparison, 67% of early ballots had been received by the Friday before the 2024 election, when 46% of registered voters had turned out.

Jeremy Johnson, a Carroll College professor and chair of the college’s Department of Political Science, said Montana typically ranks among the states with the strongest midterm participation and that the current pace was consistent with expectations.

The 2026 ballot includes a four-way U.S. Senate race featuring a prominent independent candidate. Neither of Montana’s senators nor the governor was on the ballot in 2022.

County Differences and Election Deadlines

Lewis and Clark County had received ballots from 40% of registered voters. Missoula County stood at 39%, while Yellowstone County was at 38%. Big Horn and Roosevelt counties each reported 15% turnout, and Richland County reported 17%.

Glacier County had received 43% of its early ballots, with turnout at 23%. At the same point in 2022, the county had received 26% of early ballots and recorded 15% turnout. Treasure County’s early-ballot return rate was 54%, compared with 72% at the same point four years earlier.

Blaine, Musselshell and Flathead counties had higher return rates than at the comparable point in 2022. McCone, Judith Basin and Golden Valley counties had lower rates.

The Lewis and Clark County elections office will accept ballot dropoffs from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday. Amy Reeves, the county treasurer-clerk and recorder and election administrator, said the extended hours were intended to give residents an opportunity to register before Election Day and avoid longer lines.

Voters may register at election offices until noon Monday and until polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day. Mail ballots cannot be returned by mail in time and must instead be delivered to an elections office or polling place.

A district judge blocked Montana’s requirement that voters write their birth year on mail-ballot envelopes. Election officials are accepting ballots without that information.