Election Day deadlines approaching

Editor’s note: This corrects the date that has the deadline for late registration and absentee voting registration.

With hotly contested races coming up on Election Day Tuesday, clerks and recorders are reminding people that deadlines are coming up and voters have to meet those if they want their votes to count.

Monday at noon, late registration and absentee voting closes.

Same-day voting registration starts Tuesday, running from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the local clerk and recorder's office. People who register Tuesday will receive a ballot they have to fill out and return at the office.

For people who have received absentee ballots, the clerk and recorder's office has to receive the ballot by 8 p.m. Tuesday for it to be counted. Postmarks do not have anything to do with the ballot's legitimacy, if it is not received by the deadline, it will not be counted.

A representative of the Hill County Clerk and Recorder's Office said that, at this point, people should hand-deliver their absentee ballots to the office. Even mailing today might not get them to the office in time, she said.

People also need to use the absentee ballot they received. If the ballot has been lost, they must go to their clerk and recorder's office to have that ballot voided and a new ballot issued.

People who received an absentee ballot cannot vote at the polling places. If they lost their absentee ballot and insist on voting at the polls, it will be a provisional ballot and will not be counted until the Monday after Election Day.

Polling places are staying the same as they were for the June Primary Election. In Chouteau County, polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Big Sandy Town Hall for precincts 8 and 9, and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Stone Child College on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation for Precinct 5.

Hill County's Precinct 14, which used to poll in the District 4 HRDC building, has moved to St. Jude Parish Center where precincts 2, 10 and 25 vote, which will reduce the expense to the county by eliminating one location.

The other Hill County locations remain the same, with precincts 1, 7, 8 and 9 voting in Havre High School, precincts 3, 13, 15 and 16 voting in Havre Middle School's gymnasium, Precinct 18 voting in Box Elder School, precincts 20, 21 and 22 voting in the Hi-Line Community Center in Hingham and Precinct 28 voting in the Chippewa Cree Wellness Center.

All Hill County polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In Blaine County, the polling places have not changed, with Precinct 1 voting in Turner School with polling open from noon to 8 p.m. The other locations are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. with precincts 3 and 8 voting in the Sacred Heart Church at Fort Belknap, Precinct 8 voting at Harlem High School, precincts 10, 11 and 12 voting at Chinook High School and Precinct 15 voting at Hays-Lodge Pole High School.

Polling places also have not changed in Liberty County, with precincts 1, 2 and 3 voting at CJI School in Chester and Precinct 4 voting at Joplin Community Hall. Polls are open at both locations from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.