Lopsided Primary Ballots Mean Tough Decisions for Missoula Republicans

Missoula voters may have some tough choices for the June primary, especially if they want to vote on the Republican ballot. Chief Deputy with Elections and Recording for Missoula County Rebecca Connors explains why:

"We issue two ballots for the primary," Connors said. "One is a Democratic ballot and the other is a Republican ballot. However, voters can only vote one of those two. A lot of local candidates for local positions such as sheriff's department, clerk and recorder, auditor, many of the local office positions for the county have filed only for the democratic ballot."

That means that some of Missoula county's most important offices will be decided this June in the Democratic primary and Republicans will have little influence on the matter if they choose to vote on their traditional ballot. Some clever voters may want to write-in a candidate, but if they do, they can’t choose a Democratic candidate on a Republican ballot.

"You cannot take another party's candidate and write it in under another party's ballot," Connors said. "You will have that opportunity in November when everybody is on the same ballot. Only Democratic candidates or Republican candidates that reflect on that ballot can count there."

Because so many high profile local races will only feature candidates on the Democratic ballot, Republicans will have to make the tough choice of whether or not to switch ballots for the primary.