Yellowstone County has opened a new election center at MetraPark, moving elections operations out of the courthouse and into Cedar Hall, which served as the Arts Building during MontanaFair.
A broken pipe at the courthouse in early July cancelled plans to move the elections office to the second floor of that building.
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Commissioner Chris White, R-Yellowstone County, said elections had previously been handled across eight to 10 rooms at the courthouse.
"Absolutely make it easier for anybody to come in and register to vote, check on anything, whatever else, you know, one stop," White said. "You're in one area and it keeps this whole team together, the elections team."
"There have been times when we have stayed until 2-3 a.m. counting these ballots," said Adrienne Wood, elections assistant. "But now that everything is all in one space, I think we'll get done a lot quicker and that way the results will get out, that much sooner. People are really anxious to know what the results are."
White said the new facility is a significant upgrade.
"I would guess that this is probably one of the premier setups," White said.
Elections Administrator Dayna Causby said 85 percent of Yellowstone County voters cast ballots by mail, which makes consolidating 40 precincts into one polling place at MetraPark a practical move.
"When you only have 15 percent of people showing up to the polling places, you do need fewer of them," Causby said.
Causby said the centralized location also improves how ballots are handled coming in from nine other precincts across the county.
"It means that we get to save on how we move ballots around," said Causby. "It saves us time. It also means that our team can all be in one place."
Voters will have an easier time dropping off mail-in ballots at the new location, moving in one direction toward the exit.
All ballots in the county will come into the building.
Ballot drop boxes are also available for those who prefer to drive through.
Not everyone is sold on the idea of fewer polling places.
Bill Stene manages the polling place in Huntley, which has 3 precincts, and said he prefers voting closer to home.
"Everybody ends up knowing each other," Stene said about neighborhood precincts. "It's when they come in to vote, 'Oh, I haven't seen you since the last time I voted.' You know, type of deal."
Stene said he would like to see polling locations spread out more across the city.
"I would like to see less at the Metra and more around, more around town," Stene said.
Still, Stene is among those who appreciate the new election center.
"They've had problems downtown," said Bernie Hedrick, a Billings resident. "And I know they won't be able to use that facility, but I think this is a great facility."
Cedar Hall, constructed in 1937, drew some mixed reactions on its exterior appearance, though those who toured the inside came away impressed.
"They need to paint all that," said Pat Harn, a Billings resident. "That looks terrible."
But when asked about the inside, she said: "Well, it's really nice in here."
"It'll be a huge win for Yellowstone County," said White. "I think it'll be a huge win for everybody,"
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