News

Redistricting Comments Due September 15

The Redistricting Commission is accepting maps for the Congressional Districts. Regardless of the district boundary, Missoula County will be in the new district. “Some people” are attempting to gerrymander a southwest district to combine Bozeman and Missoula together to make a “competitive” congressional seat. Competitive is not one of the criteria for deciding the boundaries of the reinstated district. The Missoula County Republicans support reinstating the district on a reasonably east-west split similar to the previously established district that follows the criteria of a balanced population and compact and contiguous.

Submit your comments with the online submission form at https://mtredistricting.gov/contact/. Ask the commission to please consider the following when selecting Congressional maps:

1. Do not create “competitive” districts – based on politics! The Congressional district lines should be drawn based upon Montana law, NOT gerrymandered based on political data.

2. The Congressional Districts should comply with Montana law and constitutional requirements. The Congressional District populations should be within 1% with rare exceptions of up to 3%. The map should minimize splitting cities and counties. The Districts should be compact and contiguous.

3. Precedent is an important concept that should guide the Commission. Historically, Montana Congressional Districts have been drawn to divide Montana into an east and a west District.

Thank you for your consideration.

WHAT WE NEED TO DO:

An overwhelming number of people need to submit proposed maps by 5:00 pm Wednesday, September 15th.

As many people as possible need to attend the next Commission meeting and provide public comments in support of a traditional East-West map. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 17th @ 9:00 am at the State Capitol, Room 172. If you can’t be there in person, you can attend virtually! You MUST request remote participation information online by 5 pm on Thursday, September 16^th at https://leg.mt.gov/content/Districting/2020/Meetings/September-17-2021/public-participation-information-dac-september-2021.pdf

The Elections Office invites people to tour the election processes leading up to and after Election Day. The following will take place in the Elections Center:  

• 9:45 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 9: Election equipment testing. Elections staff will test the tabulators used to count ballots to ensure they are working properly ahead of Election Day. They will also test the ADA-compliant ExpressVote ballot marking devices to ensure they are operating correctly for drop-off locations on Election Day. 
• 9:45 a.m. Monday, Sept. 13: Ballot processing. Attendees will observe staff and volunteers following the multi-step process used to verify signatures, process ballots and ensure that each ballot cast is counted. 
• 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14: Ballot tabulation. Attendees will observe staff conducting the final test of equipment, as well as the counting and retention process for voted ballots. 
• 2:45 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20: Provisional ballot count. Attendees will observe staff counting any accepted provisional ballots for the election. 
• 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22: Election canvass. State law requires the Elections Office and three county elected officials verify the election with a canvass. The canvass ensures the number of ballots voted are the number of ballots counted and that no ballots are missing or counted more than once. Public are invited to observe the canvass with the Missoula County commissioners and elections staff. 

The Missoula County Elections Office mailed approximately 47,250 ballots to registered voters in the City of Missoula for the Sept. 14 municipal primary election. Voters must return their ballots to the Elections Office by 8 p.m. on Election Day; postmarks are not sufficient. 

The Missoula County Republican Party proudly endorses Shawn Knopp for the next mayor of Missoula. He is the true Independent in the race and we support his fiscal policies for Missoula.

Read about Shawn’s position on issues and plans at www.shawnknoppformayor.com.

sean knoop

Following their preliminary budget hearing, the Missoula County commissioners are encouraging the public to provide feedback on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2022.   

Review budget documents, which are posted online at http://missoula.co/budgets. In addition to commenting during public meetings, residents can comment by leaving the commissioners a voicemail at 406-258-4877, emailing, bcc@missoulacounty.us or mailing comments to the Commissioners’ Office, 200 W. Broadway St. Missoula, MT 59802.   

“Missoula County looking to completely change its zoning code”

Tuesday, August 3
Missoula County Consolidated Planning Board Presentation
Time: 6pm
Topic: Environmental Design Standards
How to attend: Online event. Follow this link for instructions. https://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/1149/AgendasWebcastsMinutes

Wednesday, August 4
In person Open House, The Barn on Mullan Road
Time: Anytime between 4pm and 7pm.
Topic: Learn about the proposed Code and Map
How to attend:
The Barn on Mullan Road
8500 Mullan Rd
Missoula, Montana, 59808

Thursday, August 5
Online Workshop
Time: 12pm – 1pm
Topic: Environmental Design and Riparian Resources
How to attend: Online event. Click HERE to join

Visit our calendar events to see all outreach opportunities scheduled in August

The Missoula County Commissioners will hold their preliminary budget hearing 2 p.m. Thursday, July 29. Attending the meeting in the Sophie Moiese Room in the Missoula County Courthouse or virtually (see below). To provide comments, email bcc@missoulacounty.us or call (406) 258-4877. Join the meeting virtually via Microsoft Teams.  Dial 1-406-272-4824 conference ID: 418 454 347# to join with audio only. 
Find information on past budgets. 

In other news, Commissioners approved Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) resolution. Watch the meeting.

Missoula County’s Parks, Trails and Open Lands is seeking public input to help lead the creation of a Pathways and Trails Master Plan that will focus on improving trail connections between and within communities outside the City of Missoula’s urban area.  

See the Take Action page for a list of this weeks public meetings.

Please review and comment on Missoula County’s proposed zoning regulations. Public meetings are scheduled, check the link below. The County didn’t provide a deadline, but the last public meeting is August 18.

In the County’s own words “Balancing the need for housing with protecting resources is one of the cornerstones of the new code. Conservation design, which is the clustering of homes on a portion of property to leave the remainder undeveloped, plays a key role in this strategy. Clustering development to preserve the best agricultural areas respects individuals’ rights to develop while supplying the community’s need for local agriculture. The proposed code also provides agricultural users opportunities to supplement their farming income through uses like agritourism.“

No worries, the code is only 375 pages. Probably not too many rules in regulations in it.

We posted a blog about getting involved in Missoula County government earlier. With the upcoming 2021 municipal elections, pay attention to what is and has been going on in the city government too.

• Watch previously recorded meetings on youtube.
• Review upcoming meeting agendas (you can sign up for meeting notifications here too).
• Find the minutes from meetings posted with the agenda on the calendar
• Upcoming public hearings
• Attend public meetings and speak up!

From the Montana GOP

HELENA, Montana – Today, Senator Tester’s deeply flawed S.1, or the deceptively named “For the People Act”, failed on the Senate floor. This radical, federal election takeover bill is another example of a far-left power grab to gain control of our Federal Elections to ensure Democrat control in Washington, D.C.

“This afternoon, Senate Democrats, including Senator Tester, showed their true colors by voting in favor of the radical S.1, or “For the People Act” – which really isn’t for the people at all, and would be an absolute disaster for our country,” said Chairman Don “K” Kaltschmidt. “It would have completely eliminated voter ID laws, used taxpayer dollars to fund Democrat attack ads, and undermine the work the Montana Legislature passed this legislative session to strengthen the integrity of our elections. It would also have forced states to allow ballot harvesting, automatically register voters, and completely disregard the Constitution.

The Constitution is clear that the ‘Times, Places, and Manner of holding elections’ lies with the Montana legislature, and Senator Tester should be ashamed of his attempt to disregard our legislature’s work for his own political gain. Montanans support election integrity, and I am grateful for both Senator Daines and Congressman Rosendale’s steadfast opposition to this radical proposal.”