Stifling voter turnout not a ‘Montana value’
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Editor,
We’ve read with interest several letters to the editor recently urging support for Greg Gianforte in the May 25 special election. Each letter seemed to be written from the heart and is to be respected for that. A common theme in these letters is that Mr. Gianforte respects and will represent “Montana values.” We have to ask what Montana value is it when he remains silent while his party denies Montanans the opportunity to use mail-in ballots only for this election, because it may bring out too many voters of the opposing party? This was an opportunity that had the support of 54 of Montana’s 56 county election officials and was projected to save Montana taxpayers around $750,000. If any one doubts the party intention, Senate Bill 305—to allow use of mail-in ballots only — passed the Senate in February. However, Montana Republican Party Chairman Jeff Essmann publicly denounced the bill, saying it could help increase voter turnout and advantage the Democratic candidate in the election. The Montana Republican House of Representatives then successfully blocked any further action on any legislation that would allow for a mail-in ballot for the special election. Many would call this blatant voter suppression. To our knowledge, neither Mr. Gianforte nor any of his supporters have spoken out against this action nor held their party leadership to task. Again, we ask which particular “Montana value” is this?
Marie Mumma
Polson
