Elections & campaignsTransparencyOversight & ethics enforcement
Montana legislative audit finds Secretary of State's office FY2023 financial statements cannot be relied on; office disputes 'flunking' label
Confidence: Alleged · 1 sourceMontana · Oct 13, 2026
Subject of this story
Montana Secretary of State's Office
Also named
Oversight
Montana Legislative Audit Division
What happened
A Legislative Audit Division report presented to the Legislative Audit Committee on Jan. 15, 2026 found, as Daily Montanan reported, that the Secretary of State's office financial statements for 2023 could not be relied on (an adverse opinion) and those for 2024 only with qualifications (a modified opinion). Auditors said the office assigned a 20-year life to the roughly $4 million ElectMT election software where state policy defaults to four years, and could not document its reasoning. A deputy secretary told the committee documentation was lacking and 'we will improve' but disputed that the office was 'flunking.' The Secretary did not attend the meeting.
Sources (1)
Daily Montanan“Office management was unable to provide documentation to support policy interpretations or accounting treatment decisions,” the report to the Legislature said.
Response
Montana Secretary of State's Office
Statement given
Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.
What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.