KGVO News spoke to House District 97 Representative Brad Tschida on Wednesday who asked to promote a statewide election integrity hearing in Helena on January 25.

With all the publicity over the possible upcoming Voter Rights Bill in Congress, Tschida and many others in the state still have questions about Montana’s recent statewide and local elections.

Get our free mobile app

“This has really been for everybody who's listening and that are going to read this,” said Representative Tschida. “This has been a citizen driven issue. We've had people from around the state; I can't tell you the number of people who have asked, what can be done to restore confidence in elections? And to me, the only way to do that is to go back and examine what may or may not have happened that caused the lack of confidence in the minds of everyday citizens.”

Tschida said recent opinion polls state a large number of Americans are skeptical of the integrity of recent elections.

“I'm one of the 60 plus percent people, primarily independents, just looking at the latest Rasmussen poll, nearly 60 percent of independents believe that there was something wrong with the last election. So you know that Republican numbers are going to be higher than that. Democrats are going to be lower than that. But the bottom line is a significant portion of the population said something was not right. So the citizens have been asking us to do something.”

Since state leadership has not responded to Tschida by putting together a study commission, he and several others have done so independently.

“We have gone to leadership and they have not responded to our request to appoint a special select committee either of House members or Senate members,” he said. “So a group of folks who have attended a variety of different meetings to gather information, again based on what citizens have asked us to do, have put together an ad hoc committee hearing next Tuesday, that will last from eight o'clock in the morning until four o'clock in the afternoon.”

KGVO asked Tschida about the many in Montana and throughout the country who believe he and others have bought into ‘The Big Lie’ about the 2020 Presidential election, and should put the election behind them and move forward.

Here’s how Tschida responded.

“My first question to them is why they've changed their story? “he asked. “First, they said there was no fraud, and they said there was no significant fraud, and then they said there's no widespread fraud. Well, my question is what investigation and evaluations have you done besides turning on CNN to get their talking points? Have you looked into it? Because I have.”

Tschida said the event will be on Tuesday, January 25 at the Double Tree Inn on the south end of Last Chance Gulch in Helena, from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and everyone is invited. He said the meetings will be recorded and comments will be accepted via ZOOM with more details to be supplied soon.

Anyone with questions can call Tschida directly at 406-545-4349.

RANKED: Here are the most popular national parks

To determine the most popular national parks in the United States, Stacker compiled data from the National Park Service on the number of recreational visits each site had in 2020. Keep reading to discover the 50 most popular national parks in the United States, in reverse order from #50 to #1. And be sure to check with individuals parks before you visit to find out about ongoing, pandemic-related safety precautions at www.nps.gov/coronavirus.

20 Montana Distilleries You Have to Visit

The Montana distillery scene is certainly taking off, and with the access to local ingredients, you can feel good about supporting these establishments all across the state. Here are 20 distilleries that are worth a visit.

The 14 Best Places in Missoula to Take Visitors From Out of Town

We asked locals where they like to bring visitors when they take a trip out to Missoula - and here's what they came up with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More From Newstalk KGVO 1290 AM & 98.3 FM