Montana Title 13. Elections § 13-1-302. Election costs

(1) Unless specifically provided otherwise, all costs of the regularly scheduled primary and general elections shall be paid by the counties and other political subdivisions for which the elections are held. Each political subdivision shall bear its proportionate share of the costs as determined by the county governing body.

(2) A political subdivision holding an annual election with a regularly scheduled school election shall bear its proportionate share of the costs as determined by the county election administrator and the school district election administrator.

(3) The political subdivision for which a special election is held shall bear all costs of the election, or its proportionate share as determined by the county governing body if held in conjunction with any other election.

(4) Costs of elections may not include the services of the election administrator or capital expenditures. A county may not charge a political subdivision or school district for the purchase or routine maintenance of a voter interface device. However, the county may charge for the cost of programming a device for the election and for replacement, repairs, or maintenance required due to the political subdivision's or school district's use of the device.

(5) The county governing body shall set a schedule of fees for services provided to school districts by the election administrator. Before finalizing a contract to conduct a school election pursuant to a request under 20-20-417, the county shall provide the school district with an estimate of costs for each county voter interface device to be used for the election. When a school district is conducting its own election, the school district shall request from the county an estimate of the cost for using a county voter interface device. The county shall provide the estimate within 30 days of receiving the school district's request.

(6) Election costs shall be paid from county funds, and any shares paid by other political subdivisions shall be credited to the fund from which the costs were paid.

(7) The proportionate costs referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall be only those additional costs incurred as a result of the political subdivision holding its election in conjunction with the primary or general election.