Montana ballot-envelope label glitch forces workers to handwrite voter info; officials warn of long lines

A statewide malfunction in Montana's ballot envelope label printing, which began Friday, has forced election workers to handwrite voter identification information on envelopes, Billings station KTVQ reports.

"Our ballot ID label, which automatically prints the voter's name, the voter's ballot number, all of that is now having to be handwritten onto our envelopes," Yellowstone County Election Administrator Dayna Causby told the station. She warned that voters who register, update their registration or need a replacement ballot on Election Day should "expect to see long lines," and said workers have a backup template procedure if the system isn't fixed.

The problem affects the envelope labels, not the ballots themselves. Montana allows same-day registration at county election offices. Montana's polls close at 8 p.m. local time (10 p.m. ET). Its 1st District House race is one of the closest on the prediction markets, with Kalshi showing Democrat Sam Forstag at 59%.