HELENA – Although Montana’s elections don’t officially end until Tuesday at 8 p.m., a majority of the state’s voters already have their roles fulfilled.

As of Sunday evening, 395,082 Montanans had returned their ballots. That’s 73% of the ballots mailed out — and already 50% of all registered voters in the state.

On Monday evening, Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen said election officials had received more than 425,000 absentee ballots as of 5 p.m.

“I think people now feel comfortable with mailing in ballots and submitting ballots early,” said Jeremy Johnson, associate professor and chairman of the political science department at Carroll College.

The share of residents who have already voted varies considerably from province to province. It is highest in Golden Valley County, where 58% of registered voters had returned their ballots as of Sunday. In Teton County, 57% had already voted, and in Yellowstone, Valley and Fergus counties, 56%.

On the other hand, only 25% of registered voters in Big Horn County had returned absentee ballots, along with 30% in Roosevelt County and 32% in Richland County.

Statewide turnout has already easily exceeded the 311,741 who voted in the June primary — and it’s likely many more ballots will be returned before Tuesday’s deadline. During the 2022 general election, the Montana Secretary of State’s office reported nearly 180,000 additional votes this past Monday and Tuesday.

In 2020, the last presidential election, Montana received 612,075 votes — 81% of the state’s registered voters. Those elections took place almost entirely by mail during the COVID pandemic.

“Montana always has high turnout, but often we see it more in the 70s of eligible voters,” Johnson said. “So I expect a high turnout in this election; I’m not sure we will reach 2020 levels as this is not done entirely by post.”

Johnson said Montana has already gone through several election cycles in which voters seemed more willing to vote by mail. He also noted that Republican leaders have placed a strong emphasis this year on encouraging their supporters to vote early.

Johnson said the intense spending and heavy campaigning in the hotly contested U.S. Senate race between Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and Republican Tim Sheehy may not make voters happy, but he doesn’t expect it will discourage people from participating.

“It depresses people, but it seems to increase turnout by spending a lot of money on a race,” he said. “Very, very few people will not vote because they are contacted too much.”

Polls open at 7 a.m. across the state, except for a few mainly rural polling stations that open at noon.

If you still haven’t registered to vote or need to update your registration, you can register for Election Day on Tuesday, usually at the county’s main elections office. You can contact your local elections administrator to find out where to go.