Big Sky Times

Montana was added to the VoterRef database last month, an online voter registration database run by the Voter Reference Foundation (VRF), which aims to increase transparency by maintaining an updated file of registered voters and their most accurate information.

This comes as a recently discovered case of election fraud in the state proves the importance of a database like that run by VRF. In a release Jan. 14, VRF Executive Director Gina Swoboda said 2022 will be a crucial year for the group to bolster its database and increase residents’ ability to understand the election reporting process.

“As we keep expanding the database this year, we hope to encourage residents across the country to educate themselves and to serve as grassroots advocates for transparency and election integrity," Swoboda said in the release.

A Feb. 4 press release from the Office of the Secretary of State in Montana states two non-citizens were arrested earlier this month and charged with deceptive election practices. The two were citizens of the Philippines who were in Montana on work visas, yet allegedly claimed to be U.S. citizens when registering to vote.

The two have entered not guilty pleas, and a date has not yet been set for their trial.

Montana was the 13th state to be added to the database behind Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. The site has a goal to complete the database with all 50 states by the end of 2022.

According to the VRF release, there is reportedly a wide range of discrepancies among states. 

The discrepancy in the state of Montana is 1,896 votes. Yet, in Michigan, the discrepancy is 74,135, while in North Carolina, it is 42.

Through an extensive voter file creation process, the database has the ability to show the discrepancy between the number of voters and number of votes cast in a given election. Detected discrepancies indicate the need for better record-keeping and accountability.