BILLINGS – Seventy-two percent of Montana’s registered voters cast ballots in this year’s election as absentee voting hit record levels.
The secretary of state’s office finished tallying county results Wednesday and the vote is set to be certified Nov. 27.
More than 486,000 people voted in the Nov. 6 election. Turnout was down slightly from 2008, the year of the last presidential election, but it was comparable to other presidential election years.
The U.S. Senate contest between Democrat Jon Tester and Republican Denny Rehberg drew the highest vote total.
Counties received a record 262,045 absentee ballots. That’s a record number, up 24 percent from 2008.
Almost 8,000 people took advantage of the state’s late registration period to register and vote on Election Day. That figure also is up from 2008.