A postcard from the Montana Secretary of State’s Office has elicited one complaint and numerous inquiries with the Commissioner of Political Practices.
The postcard, which landed in many Montana mailboxes last week, preceded an announcement this week from the Secretary of State’s Office about a new program to strengthen election security — and its initial results.
The program is a partnership with the federal government to verify voter citizenship. A news release said it is free to election officials.
“Already, the federal government’s SAVE tool flagged 23 records as potential non-citizens, most of which appear to have permanent alien status and no record of citizenship,” the news release said.
SAVE stands for the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements.
“Several of the flagged individuals had voter histories indicating participation in dozens of previous Montana elections,” the news release said.
The postcard shows a picture of Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and President Donald Trump.
It announces the SAVE partnership between Montana and the Trump administration to “strengthen election security” to disallow non-citizens from voting.
“Only citizens should be allowed to vote,” the postcard said.
To vote in Montana, people need to be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old before the election, and a Montana resident for at least 30 days before the next election.
In the United States, some places allow non-citizens to vote in local elections, but Montana does not.
The program, the postcard
In response to questions, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office directed the Daily Montanan to the news release from the office.
The spokesperson did not address which counties those potential non-citizens were from, when they most recently voted, and when the office would determine whether they were citizens.
However, Missoula County Elections Administrator Bradley Seaman said every vote matters.
Statistically, it’s likely that one of those 23 potential non-citizens is from Missoula, he said, so he is eager to hear what the next steps might be from the Secretary of State’s Office.
“The sooner we’re able to work on this, the better,” Seaman said.
Seaman also said the number indicates the current system is working well; Montana has 784,911 registered voters, and 23 potential non-citizens is 29-one-thousandths of 1 percent.
He said verification takes place using a driver’s license or Social Security number, and a Social Security number is effective, although any system can have errors.
But Seaman also said a non-citizen might have a driver’s license. Usually, he said, the mistakes that happen are when people check an incorrect box on a registration form.
Although Seaman said he believes verification is working well, he couldn’t say whether the new SAVE program will be a benefit to election security because he doesn’t know enough about it yet.
He said his office did not know the state would be sending out the postcard until it landed in someone’s mailbox, and it would be helpful to know about such a program before getting questions about it.
“We love working closely with the Secretary of State, and these are big-scale plans that we would love to know about before they happen to our voters,” Seaman said.
Seaman also pointed to a recent instance in Missoula County where an election outcome could have been affected by just one vote, such as if one of the 23 potential non-citizens were among the local voters.
A city council race in 2023 resulted in a tied vote after a recount, so the Missoula City Council made the decision in an appointment.
“When you have a dead tie on a recount, you feel it,” Seaman said.
Seaman said those outcomes show the importance of verification and voter education, a focus in Missoula.
He said he believes the Secretary of State wants to reverify the 23 potential non-citizens, and Missoula County would want the same.
“If there’s an election coming up, let’s not wait,” Seaman said.
The complaint
The postcard has led to several inquiries with the Commissioner of Political Practices and one complaint, said Commissioner Chris Gallus.
Received on Jan. 9, the complaint alleges a misuse of taxpayer funds.
In the complaint, Montana resident and registered voter Susan Beley of Harlowton expressed deep concern the postcard implied “any random person can vote.”
“This is blatantly untrue as only citizens ARE ALLOWED to vote,” Beley wrote.
“She (Jacobsen) used her State of Montana office and my tax dollars to align herself with the current president (including a photo) in the narrative that has been proven false claiming that ‘elections are rigged’; that ‘someone other than citizens are voting.’”
The spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office did not answer a question about how much it cost to produce and mail the postcard.
In the complaint, Beley said Montana already has stringent identification requirements and fair and impartial elections judges, and the mailer builds distrust and “is party aligned.”
“My tax dollars SHOULD NOT fund such propaganda,” Beley wrote.
Gallus said he is conducting an initial review to assess whether the allegations present legal questions that are under his authority and whether he has the factual evidence to support them if so.
Questions include whether the postcard constitutes electioneering or campaign activity, Gallus said. He said the electioneering concept includes depicting a candidate or group of candidates in a way that casts a positive or negative light upon them.
Jacobsen was re-elected as Secretary of State in November 2024 and has not publicly announced a run for any office in 2026.
If the complaint is under his jurisdiction and moves forward, Gallus said he would request a response from the Secretary of State. He said respondents aren’t required to respond, but 99% of the time they do.
In this case, Gallus said the allegations are straightforward, so he anticipates being able to complete his initial review by possibly next week.