Policy about absentee ballots irks candidate

HELENA - A Democratic candidate for secretary of state said Thursday that state elections officials have created confusion over how some absentee ballots are handled and cast doubt on whether secret ballots are truly secret.

Jon Ellingson, one of five candidates running for the office, said the secretary of state's office should clarify its position on how mailed ballots are processed when it appears a voter's required identification was mistakenly put in the same ''secrecy envelope'' as the ballot.

He said the office first told county election administrators that, in such cases, they could op...