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April 23, 2026
The Postal Service identified issues with Gallatin County’s 2026 school election ballot return envelopes. The earliest returned ballots’ envelopes, scanned by USPS during the week of April 20, were marked for “Poplar,” a town on the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Reservation, rather than Gallatin County’s elections office in Bozeman.
The address on the envelopes was correct, but the barcode was not. “There’s no ballots going to Poplar, but that barcode is programmed for Poplar,” stated Gallatin County Clerk and Recorder Eric Semerad. Postal workers are now sorting ballots based on the printed address, disregarding the barcode. The school elections, conducted entirely by mail, involve 77,500 ballots, a record for the county. Voters received ballots on April 17, and they must be returned by May 5.
The barcode issue stems from a template used statewide, which in Gallatin County’s case, was not updated with a local barcode. The incorrect barcode is also printed on envelopes for the upcoming June 2 primary election, featuring key races such as incumbent Republican Sen. Shelley Vance versus challenger Caleb Hinkle in Senate District 34.
Semerad confirmed that the barcode problem will be fixed for the primary ballots. For school elections, clerks are blocking out barcodes on new voter envelopes. Despite these issues, Semerad assures that voters should confidently participate. Other counties reported no barcode problems, but the new requirement for voters to add their birth year on the ballot envelopes has led to ballot rejections.
Montana clerks reported contacting voters last fall to address missing birth years, resulting in 2,700 rejected ballots. Voters outside city limits face this requirement for the first time in school elections.
The Art of the Wheels
Details about U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy’s emergency landing near Ennis on April 11 remain unclear, but FAA records provide insights beyond the 35-word statement from Sheehy’s staff. The incident involved an Aero Vodochody model L-39, a high-speed Czechoslovakian trainer jet.
The jet, part of the Polaris “Ghost Squadron” owned by NASA administrator Jared Isaacman, is housed at Yellowstone International Airport near Belgrade. The airport is also home to Bridger Aerospace, Sheehy’s aerial wildfire-fighting business. The FAA revealed that the jet’s landing gear was not extended when Sheehy landed.
“Sen. Sheehy was engaged in a routine flight training exercise which he completes twice a year. The aircraft experienced a mechanical engine failure,” stated Mike Berg, Sheehy’s chief of staff. Sheehy previously used his influence with the Trump administration to push Isaacman’s nomination as NASA administrator.
Following the initial nomination withdrawal, Sheehy brokered Isaacman’s renomination with Vice President J.D. Vance, demonstrating his influence in political dealings. Sheehy’s official response praised Trump’s decision to nominate Isaacman, crediting him with invigorating NASA as America aims to lead 21st-century space exploration.
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