Helena League of Women Voters Compiles VOTE411 Online Guide for May Elections
Author: Sue O'Connell, VOTE411 Committee
An online voter guide compiled by the League of Women Voters of the Helena Area provides
information on the upcoming May 5 school and special district elections in a four-county area.
The VOTE411 website lists the candidates running for the various offices and includes the responses
candidates provided – in their own words – to questions about their qualifications and priorities.
The site also lists the ballot measures voters will face, dealing with school, hospital, and ambulance district property tax levies and, in Madison County, hospital district boundaries.
The guide includes races for the following positions:
• in Lewis and Clark County, Augusta Elementary School District #45, the Canyon Creek Rural Fire District and the Lincoln/Lewis and Clark County Sewer District;
• in Broadwater County, Townsend School District #1;
• in Jefferson County, Clancy Elementary School District #1, Whitehall School District #2, and Jefferson High School District #1;
• in Madison County, Ennis School District #52, Harrison School District #23, Cardwell Elementary School District #16, the Harrison Rural Fire District, theMadison Valley Rural Fire District, and Ruby Valley Hospital District #1.
The VOTE411 site also has information on candidates for the Cardwell Elementary School District #16/31 seat.
Certain voters in both Madison County and Jefferson County are eligible to vote on that school board seat.
“We’re so pleased candidates took the time to answer our questions and let voters know where they stand on the issues,” said Cherri Jones, president of the Helena League. “The more information voters have, the better
prepared they’ll be to cast their votes in this election.”
Ballot measures included on the Vote411 site for the four counties involve:
• a mill levy increase to fund the Lincoln Hospital District;
• a proposal to re-establish a combined Madison and Ruby Valley Rural Ambulance District and impose a mill levy to fund it;
• a proposal to split the Madison Valley Hospital District into two districts by removing the Big Sky Resort Area District from the existing hospital district to create a separate Big Sky Hospital District;
• school mill levy increases in the following communities: Augusta, Cardwell, East Helena, Ennis, Harrison, Helena, Montana City, Sheridan and Twin Bridges.
VOTE411 is a national online platform designed by the League of Women Voters Education Fund. For more than 15 years, VOTE411 has provided objective, nonpartisan information on elections in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
In addition to listing candidates and ballot measures, the site helps voters navigate state specific voting matters ranging from voter registration and voting requirements to the location of polling places.
Jones noted that VOTE411 is updated for each election in Montana, with information on the June 2 primary election to be available in early May.
“We encourage voters to visit VOTE411 to review their races and make a voting plan, not just for May 5 but for future elections, as well,” she said.
Voters can access the information by going to
https://VOTE411.org/montana
then clicking on “Preview Your Ballot Info,”
and entering their address on the subsequent page. That will bring up a list of races and ballot measures specific to a voter’s location.
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