Monday, October 6th is the last official day in Montana where you can register to vote in the November election. If you're passionate about voting in this election, and I certainly hope you are, then you better make sure you register by this day. If you missed it, we do have same-day voter registration in Montana, but there are some additional hoops that you have to jump through, but do it anyway! 
 
Are you a registered voter in Missoula, Butte-Silver Bow, Lewis and Clark, Deerlodge, Glacier or Hill counties? Have you moved in the last 18 months? If you answered yes to both of these questions, you better check your voter registration if you intend to cast a ballot on November 4th. In case you didn't hear, last week the Montana Republican party challenged the registrations of over 6,000 registered voters in these counties.  Any voter who has filled out a change of address card in the last 18 months was at risk for having their voter registrations challenged. Fitting into that category, I'm sure I'm on that list, myself. (UPDATE: I'm not on the list. Are you? Find out here: www.MontanaVoterSuppression.org) 
 
It came as a headache to county officials in the affected counties. Hill County, where I grew up, has a large Native American population and a college. Hill County Clerk and recorder, Diane Mellem told the Great Falls Tribune how it negatively impacted preparation for the upcoming election: "We had too many other things to do, including absentee voting registration, which starts Monday, so we had to stop everything to take care of these challenges," Mellem said.

Mellem also said challenges were filed against voters who are in the Military, away at college or out of state for medical treatment or vacations. They will have to fill out an affidavit and return it to local election officials before November 4th, or their vote will be provisional. (Meaning it won't count until after the election.)
 
Many opponents of this move think it is politically motivated to keep young voters and Native Americans from casting ballots. If you've seen my video, "The Message from Missoula" then you know someone on that list. Kevin Furey, a former state representative (under the age of 30) and Army Reserve officer on his way back to the Middle East, has had his voter registration challenged. He told the Missoulian in a statement: "It is ironic that at the same time I am about to return to Iraq to help build a democracy, that my own right to vote is being challenged at home for partisan purposes. These challenges are a blatant and offensive attempt to suppress the rights of voters."
 
The good news is that if you're concerned about whether or not your voter registration is up to date and want to check, you can go to www.voteforchange.com to check. (It is a service of the Obama for America website, but does not openly advocate his campaign. However it is still a useful tool.) I haven't received notification of whether or not I'm on this list, but I did update my voter registration this weekend. It shouldn't be hard to vote, or participate in the electoral process, but it does take some personal responsibility, so this weekend, I did update my voter registration, and had a lovely chat with our Secretary of State, Brad Johnson. Nothing's going to stop me from voting this year, and please take steps to make sure nobody will stop you, either.