Register to Vote!
Prior to 1971, Americans under age 21 did not have the right to vote. With the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, that changed. Voting is part of being a citizen in our nation’s democracy. Many city, county and state races are determined by just a handful of votes.
Your right to vote is precious. Your vote matters. Don鈥檛 waste it.
Election Day is November 4, 2025
Download a voter registration form from the Montana Secretary of State’s office.
Registered Montana voters may vote by absentee ballot. Download the application.
Find out if you’re registered to vote, the location of your local election office and more.
More Information
Voter Registration
Regular voter registration closes 30 days before the election. However, you can submit a late voter registration application in person at the county election office or a designated location聽until noon on the day before the election.
To register, you will need to fill out the聽. That includes providing:
- .
- Your address in the county where you are registering to vote.
For more information about voting, call your local election office or call the Montana Secretary of State鈥檚 toll-free voter help line: 1-406-444-9608.
Absentee Ballots
According to the Montana Secretary of State, any registered voter may vote by absentee ballot. Ballots for federal/state elections are mailed to eligible voters 25 days before Election Day.
聽must be submitted to the county election office聽by noon on the day before聽Election Day. They can be mailed or dropped off in person. If you drop it off in person, you’ll be able to pickup your absentee ballot at the same time, if ballots are available at that time.
Absentee ballots must be returned following the instructions included with them and must be received at the county election office by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
For more information about voting, call your local election office or call the Montana Secretary of State鈥檚 toll-free voter help line: 1-406-444-9608.
Where do I vote?
College students from another Montana county聽may choose to vote in their home county by absentee ballot or register to vote in the county where they are attending college.聽
College students from another state聽may choose to become a resident of Montana if they have resided in the state for at least 30 days and vote in the county where they are going to school聽or聽they may register and vote in their home state.聽
You must choose one or the other. You cannot vote in both.
Voting Tips & Useful Links
Request absentee ballots early
If you will not cast a ballot in Cascade County, you must request an absentee ballot either from your Montana county’s election office or from the election office in your home county in whatever state you hail from. Don’t delay!
Register to vote in another state
If you will vote in another state鈥檚 election, you can register through聽.
Mail in your ballots early
If you mail in your ballot, whether for Cascade County, another county in Montana, or to another state, be sure to send it early to ensure it will arrive on time.
Don't take your right to vote for granted
When President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Morrill Act, which created land-grant universities like Montana State, he did so with the hope that higher education would help bring economic and social mobility to the working families of America as well as strengthen the fabric of our nation’s democracy.
It was not until 1869, following the bloody U.S. Civil War, that the 15th Amendment was passed adding a guarantee that the right to vote should not be denied or abridged on account of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
The 19th Amendment, which was passed by Congress in 1919 and ratified by the states the following year, guaranteed that the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex.
Native peoples gained citizenship in 1924 but were not able to vote in all states until 1962.
It was not until 1964 that the 24th Amendment to the Constitution was passed that prohibited the levying of poll taxes — a mechanism used to disenfranchise African Americans.聽聽
Constitution Day is Septemer 17
In September 1787, the Founders signed the most influential document in American history, the U.S. Constitution. To learn more, click on the button below.