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HELENA, Mont. — Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen says the state’s post-election audit process is underway.
The Montana State Board of Canvassers, made up of representatives from the Attorney General’s Office, Office of Public Instruction, and State Auditor’s Office, met in the Supreme Court Chambers on Tuesday to randomly select the races, ballot issues, and precincts to be audited for Montana’s 2026 General Election post-election audit. Participants rolledmultiple 10-sided dice to determine the audit selections.
Under Montana’s Post-Election Audit Act, election officials must hand count votes and compare those totals with the previously tabulated results. Laws passed by the 2023 Legislature strengthened the Act by expanding the number of races included in the post-election audit and by requiring counties that count votes by hand to conduct a post-election audit as well.
“Paper ballots and the Post-Election Audit Act work together to confirm that Montana’s election results are accurate and transparent,” said Secretary Jacobsen. “Over the past five years, Montana has strengthened its election processes, from voter ID to cleaning the voter rolls to these post-election audit procedures. Thank you to the Montana Election Team and the State Board of Canvassers for initiating this important step.”
The Secretary of State’s website contains the list of random-sample audit selections from Tuesday’s meeting (click here). Counties across the state will conduct the post-election audit and complete their county canvassing by Tuesday, November 17. The State Canvass is scheduled for Monday, November 30.