Montana mailed ballots must be received by Nov. 3 to count

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — In the back-and-forth court battle over Montana’s mail ballot election deadlines, the Montana Supreme Court has said the current state law will be in force for the general election. Mailed-in ballots must be received by county election offices by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. The Montana Supreme Court said general election ballots and instructions have already been printed and changing the deadline would confuse voters and interfere with the state’s ability to administer the election. In a separate ruling, the justices agreed that that a voter-enacted law that restricted third-party collection of ballots is unconstitutional.