{"data":{"id":"us-mt/13-21-222","jurisdiction":"us-mt","citation":"13-21-222","heading":"Methods of applying for military-overseas ballot.","body":"(1) A covered voter who is registered to vote in this state may apply for a military-overseas ballot:\n(a) using either the regular absentee ballot application in use in the voter's jurisdiction under 13-13-212 or the federal postcard application or the application's electronic equivalent;\n(b) by making a written request, which must include the voter's birth date and signature; or\n(c) by making an electronic request that includes the voter's birth date and affirmation of the voter's eligibility to vote under the Montana Absent Uniformed Services and Overseas Voter Act.\n(2) A person who holds a power of attorney from a uniformed-service voter may apply for an absentee ballot for that election on behalf of the uniformed-service voter. The applicant shall provide a copy of the power of attorney authorizing the request for an absentee ballot along with the application.\n(3) A covered voter who is not registered to vote in Montana may use a federal postcard application or the application's electronic equivalent to apply simultaneously to register to vote under 13-21-221 and for a military-overseas ballot.\n(4) The secretary of state shall ensure that the electronic transmission system described in 13-21-106(3) is capable of accepting the submission of a federal postcard application. The voter may use the electronic transmission system or any other approved method to apply for a military-overseas ballot.\n(5) A covered voter may use the declaration accompanying a federal write-in absentee ballot as an application for a military-overseas ballot simultaneously with the submission of the federal write-in absentee ballot if the declaration is received by the appropriate election official within the time period required by this chapter.\n(6) An application from a covered voter who applies for a ballot under this section is considered a request for an absentee ballot for all elections held through December 31 of the year following the calendar year of application or for a shorter period if requested by the covered voter.\n(7) To receive the benefits of this chapter, a covered voter shall inform the appropriate election official that the voter is a covered voter. Methods of informing the appropriate election official that a voter is a covered voter include:\n(a) the use of a federal postcard application or federal write-in absentee ballot;\n(b) the use of an overseas address on an approved voter registration application or ballot application; and\n(c) the inclusion on an approved voter registration application or ballot application or other information sufficient to identify the voter as a covered voter.\n(8) This section does not preclude a covered voter from voting under Title 13, chapter 13, part 2.","path":["TITLE 13. ELECTIONS","CHAPTER 21. MONTANA ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES AND OVERSEAS VOTER ACT","Part 2. Absentee Voting"],"source_url":"https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0130/chapter_0210/part_0020/section_0220/0130-0210-0020-0220.html","current_through":"Montana Code Annotated 2025","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T04:46:27Z","sha256":"9e3fc4da9d648cfb5625225c6eacb87de1fa6fa62f489214943d2c29774a6c33","source_id":"us-mt","stale":false,"prev":"us-mt/13-21-221","next":"us-mt/13-21-223"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}