County Elections Department Director Bret Rutherford explains how the ballots are tabulated and how the ballot counting machines work. (courtesy photo)
Last Friday, about a dozen citizens crowded into a room on the second floor of the Courthouse in Billings to see how ballots are processed and counted. The demonstration is one that the Elections Department Director, Bret Rutherford, must do prior to every election. While the public is always invited to attend, Rutherford said, he usually has to specifically ask a few people to attend to serve as witnesses, which the law says he must have as part of the process to guarantee the integrity of elections.
That there were actually people interested in the process this year is the consequences of questions that were raised nationwide about the last presidential election, which prompted a lot of investigations and opinions about how and who might have been involved in election malfeasance. Their examinations did not miss Montana or Yellowstone County and to actually view the process pursued in any election seemed the best way to address any concerns.
Rutherford, who has been director of Elections in Yellowstone County for the past 16 years, has an impeccable record, with never a question about the validity or integrity of any election. Some local citizens became concerned, however, about exactly what does happen in the election process given news about the county accepting a grant from a private non-profit organization.
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