Secretary of State used federal grant to pay for postcard
Keila Szpaller
(Daily Montanan) Rep. Jerry Schillinger, head of the Legislative Audit Committee, said the Secretary of State’s Office used federal funds to pay for a controversial postcard, specifically a Help America Vote Act grant.
In January, voters started receiving the postcard, which announced a partnership with the Trump administration to strengthen election security.
Legislators and the public have asked the source of funds used to pay the nearly $197,000 cost of the mailing.
A spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office did not respond to a question Monday about how the postcard, sent to 467,000, fits into allowable spending for HAVA funds.
The law is meant to support voting system upgrades and improve the administration of federal elections.
The postcard said across the top, “Only Citizens Should Be Allowed To Vote,” already a requirement in Montana. It had a picture of Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and President Donald Trump.
Schillinger, R-Circle, said Friday whether spending on the postcard was allowed was “obviously not a question in the Secretary of State’s mind.
“They did it anyway,” Schillinger said.
But he said the question still needs to be answered to the satisfaction of the committee.
Schillinger said another question is why it took so long for the Secretary of State’s Office to post the payment, nearly 60 days.
However, Schillinger said he anticipates the Legislative Audit Division will follow up on the questions, as will his committee.
State records show the payment would be made with 2020 HAVA funds.
Monday, Legislative Audit Division spokesperson Eric Seidle confirmed staff were “researching the issue and expect to provide a response to the committee later this week.”
Seidle could not confirm the division was looking specifically at whether the use of HAVA funds was appropriate for the mailing.
However, auditors typically evaluate whether spending has taken place correctly.
Jacobsen and her office have been under scrutiny for multiple reasons, including her absence at legislative committees charged with oversight of the Secretary of State’s Office.
Last week, a spokesperson from her office pointed out that officials from the Secretary of State’s Office attended all but one recent meeting, and in that case, the office provided a memo to address lawmakers’ questions.
But at least one legislator described the memo as an inadequate response to the State Administration and Veterans’ Affairs committee, and last week, the Secretary of State official present at another legislative committee meeting didn’t offer answers about the postcard.
At the Tuesday meeting of the Interim Budget Committee Section A, which oversees the Secretary of State’s Office, Rep. Luke Muszkiewicz, D-Helena, asked why the Secretary of State had not yet paid the bill for the postcard, due March 22.
“The question is simply … when does the Secretary of State plan to pay that invoice and with what funding source?” Muszkiewicz said.
Secretary of State Chief Fiscal Officer Brandi Pierson said she was “not prepared to speak” on that topic. She directed Muszkiewicz to submit questions to the Secretary of State’s Office for a response.
Monday, Muszkiewicz said he learned hours after last week’s Tuesday meeting that the Secretary of State’s Office had initiated the payment.
He said the following day, he received confirmation the payment posted, albeit not from the Secretary of State’s Office. Muszkiewicz said he had also asked the question of the Legislative Fiscal Division, which found the payment in the state accounting system.
“What remains puzzling to me is why the CFO for the Secretary of State’s Office couldn’t share that with us Tuesday,” in the committee meeting, he said.
Muszkiewicz said he also didn’t understand why he was directed to send his questions to the Secretary of State, but days later, still hadn’t received answers from that office.
“I make no judgment on whether that was an appropriate use of funds at this time, but I am frustrated that they won’t disclose the simple details of when they paid and from what funding source,” Muszkiewicz said.
At the interim budget meeting, Sen. Derek Harvey, D-Butte, said he too believes legislators need to closely monitor spending at the Secretary of State’s Office, especially given a recent problematic audit report.
“It’s pretty obvious that a little more in depth oversight is needed,” Harvey said.
In a recent press release, Jacobsen followed up on the content of the postcard. She said the program had helped identify 23 records of non-citizens casting ballots.
That amounts to an estimated .0029% of registered voters. The press release said a review of the 23 voter records showed nearly 150 ballots cast.
The Secretary of State’s Office has not responded to questions about those records, such as when those ballots were cast, but Jacobsen said in a statement that one illegal vote disenfranchises Montanans.
“Non-citizen voting will not be tolerated,” Jacobsen said in a statement.