Johnson wants another term as Sec. of State

Montana Secretary of State candidate Brad Johnson said he wants to do away with same-day voting registration and he thinks people should have to show government-issued photo identification before they’re allowed to vote.

Johnson, a Republican, will square off in the June primary against Drew Turiano of Helena and Patty Lovaas of Missoula for a spot on the November ballot.

The 61-year-old is no stranger to the Secretary of State office. He held the post from 2005 to 2009 until he was unseated by Democrat Linda McCulloch.

Johnson said he isn’t opposed to allowing late voter registration — he could support allowing registration as late as the Friday before election day.

But he claimed same-day registration creates “chaos” in local election departments, even though he admits that less than one-half of one percent of voters actually register on election day.

He claimed voters have 1,300 different opportunities to register to vote prior to an election.

Johnson also wants to see a “modernization” of the signature verification process for mail-in ballots and the initiative process. He claimed that while instances of voter fraud are low in Montana, there has been fraud in other states.

He also advocates the requiring government-issued identification at polling places before a person could vote. A photo I.D. is not required under current law — a person can show a utility bill or other proof of identification. For people without driver’s licenses, Johnson advocates creating a free photo I.D. card.

Johnson said he didn’t have an estimate on what all these measures would cost, but he claimed the current process of verifying absentee ballots by mail was “unscientific,” even though ballots are only mailed to people who are clearly already registered to vote.

Johnson said he didn’t oppose corporate donations to campaigns, but political action committees and other like entities should have to provide immediate disclosure of their contributors prior to any advertising release to the public.

Johnson grew up in the Midwest and his dad was in the oil business. He has been active in politics since he was a youth — Johsnon campaigned for Richard Nixon while in high school in 1968.