Tag: Musselshell County, Montana

The losing candidate in the Musselshell County sheriff’s race has blamed the elections administrator for his loss and secured a court-ordered recount with rules that could reverse it. An attorney for the county is agreeing to the judge’s rules and has said taxpayers should foot the bill for the recount. But an attorney for the winning candidate is crying foul, saying the recount rules are illegal and the county’s attorney is not defending the elections administrator against the “baseless allegations” that set the stage for the recount. Ronnie Burns lost in November to current Undersheriff Shawn Lesnik by 1.67 percent of the vote, or by 41 votes. Judge Katharine Bidegaray, of the Seventh Judicial District in Eastern Montana, granted the recount after Burns made allegations about wrongdoing on the part of Musselshell County Elections Administrator Cheryl Tomassi, which the county has not yet contested. It’s also declined to respond to the allegations against Tomassi. Tomassi has denied that. Write-in candidates are allowed to list variations of their name, such as “Ronald Burns” or “Ron Burns” in advance of the election that voters might use and have the vote still count. Burns also alleged Tomassi told him he could not distribute stickers with his name on them and a blackened oval to supporters so that they could paste them on the write-in line. Tomassi told The Gazette she merely advised him not to, because the stickers “gum up the machines.” When Burns asserted it was legal to use the stickers, Tomassi said she agreed.