Some Columbia Falls voters will have to drive to Whitefish to vote

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

Some Columbia Falls residents voting in this year’s election will have to drive to the Armory in Whitefish to vote if they haven’t signed up for an absentee ballot.

The reason is redistricting, which was completed by a bipartisan commission in 2023. The new districts chop up the old House District 3 and lump most of Whitefish and Columbia Falls into a new House District 4.

In addition, Senate Bill 86 passed the legislature in early 2023 and limits the number of registered voters in each precinct to 2,500 or fewer. With this change, Flathead County gained 14 additional precincts, increasing the total current precincts from 42 to 56.

The end result is that neighborhoods on the west end of Columbia Falls are now in Precinct 11, which means they have to drive to the Whitefish Armory at 305 Armory Road to vote.

The Armory is a little more than 7 miles away from the west end of Columbia Falls.

One voter who called the Hungry Horse News to complain said he used to vote either at the Montana Veterans Home or the high school.

But the elections department is getting away from having voting in schools, because school is in session. In addition, the Columbia Falls High School is under construction due to a remodel of the classroom wing after it flooded this summer.

Still, the drive is short compared to what North Forkers will have to drive to vote. In precincts 2, 8, 9 and 10 people vote at the Senior Center on Nucleus Avenue. Precincts 8 and 2 are the North Fork, while 9 and 10 are Columbia Falls city limits.

Someone living up Trail Creek for example, would have to drive 50-plus miles one-way to vote.

Voters can look up their district at the county’s election department website at: flathead.mt.gov/department-directory/election. Then click on the “redistricting” link.

There’s still time to avoid the hassle of having to drive to the polls. A person can apply for an absentee ballot by noon the day before the election. They will get a ballot that day, but they have to drop off the ballot at the county election offices in Kalispell.

People who have already signed up for an absentee ballot should see one in the mail soon. They were mailed out on Friday, Oct. 11.