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Shop NowMontana’s primary results for the new congressional district have been put on hold after learning of the ballots being printed on the wrong size paper.
And according to the Secretary of State’s office, the size of the ballot is important, as they cannot be machine counted if they are unable to fit in the tabulator. Not to mention, Missoula Country has over 2,500 outstanding ballots that will not be totaled until at the earliest of June 13.
Great Falls Tribune reported that Montana law requires all ballots to either be counted by hand or by a machine, with no combination allowed, according to the office’s spokesperson Richie Melby.
The ballots are in relation to a seat in a new congressional district that had been created after the 2020 census.
Representative Matt Rosendale, endorsed by President Donald Trump, won his primary in what is now Congressional District 2 and will now face Billings councilmember Penny Ronning, whom is a Democrat.
Five Republicans campaigned for the new federal position in District 2.
NPR shared that the the two front runners, Ryan Zinke and Al Olszewski, are about 2% apart in votes, with 93.2% of the ballots counted so far.
Olszewski, a former state senator, advocated for increasing competition in the agriculture industry, eliminating the U.S. Department of Education in favor of additional state education funding, and increasing energy independence by creating more oil and gas leasing opportunities during his campaign.
“We are competitive through inexpensive energy and inexpensive raw materials,” Olszewski said during a Republican debate in May. “Drill, baby, drill.”
Zinke, a former Navy Seal and former state U.S. congressman, was endorsed by Trump. Following his position as congressman, who’s position was later filled by Rosendale, he joined Trump’s cabinet as Secretary of the Interior back in 2017.
“Running as if he is unopposed, Zinke has largely walled himself off from both the press and his would-be constituents,” reports HuffPost. “He grants interviews almost exclusively to right-wing outlets and radio hosts, where he can count on softball questions, and did not show up to a single candidate forum ahead of Tuesday’s primary, including one last month in his hometown of Whitefish.”
At the moment, Zinke holds the lead over Olszewski by just over 1,000 votes.
The winner of the primary will then face attorney and Democrat candidate Monica Tranel, who secured 65% of the vote against two competitors in the November election.
Currently, Lincoln Country is conducting a hand count of the estimated 6,000 misprinted ballots, which could take up to three days.
