As of today, there are 63 days until the November 4 General Election, but probably the most important date for Montana politicians and campaigns is October 6, 2014. That’s the date by which ballots are mailed to electors on the absentee list.

That’s only 34 days from today (or about 816 hours). Here in Montana, more and more voters are mailing their ballots instead of waiting until Election Day.

September 1 was also the beginning of a new fundraising quarter, so e-mails were flying the past few days trying to get me to donate before September 1.

The subject lines from those e-mails were pretty funny. Here are a few:

“serious setback,”
“This can’t wait until Tuesday”
“Did I mention your gift is worth double?”
“Friend, this isn’t good”
“serious deadline”
“We’re pleading”
“We’re absolutely PLEADING”
“We’re pleading one last time”
“We’re BEGGING you”

There are two major races in Montana: U.S. Senate and U.S. House. Montanans will also elect two state Supreme Court justices. There are also two Public Service Commission races, and 25 state senators and 100 state house members will be elected, as well as several District Court Judges. There are also local races.

To ensure you have the latest information from an independent viewpoint, you can subscribe to this blog (on the right side of this screen) to have my columns delivered to your inbox. It’s free! You can also follow me on Twitter @TheWesternWord and you can “Like” The Western Word on Facebook. On Facebook I will be posting information from candidates, political parties, and stories from the media and bloggers all in one place.

The most important thing you can do is vote. If you live in Montana, click HERE to find out how to register to vote. If you live in another state, click HERE to find out how to register.

Another thing you can do is volunteer to help a candidate. It’s fun and you will enjoy it.

As Michael Buffer says, “Let’s get ready to rumble!”

## END ##