Roy McKenzie

@roy

Roy McKenzie covered Missoula County's response to the COVID-19 event during 2020 and 2021 and covers politics in Missoula.

Missoula Legalizes Public Camping as Supreme Court Permits Bans

Missoula City Council legalized public camping just days before the Supreme Court ruled that cities can ban the practice, sparking debate on public safety policies.

Person leans from the back seat of a car at Hawthorne and Pine behind the Poverello Center to adjust cooking foil on portable camping burner.

July 1, 2024 . By Roy McKenzie

Missoula Republican Chair Calls Police on Another Member

Missoula County Republican Central Committee Chair, Vondene Kopetski, called the police on yet another Republican during Tuesday night’s monthly Central Committee meeting. In 2021, Kopetski called the police on another individual at a committee meeting, a new member, claiming to police that the person had committed elder abuse because of a difference of opinion. Kopetski’s […]

March 2, 2023 . By Roy McKenzie

Montana DOJ Investigating Ballot Shredding in Carbon County

Video compiled and obtained through public records requests by citizens in Carbon County shows Elections Administrator Crystal Roascio shredding what appear to be tri-folded mail-in ballots on election night, November 8, 2022. Attorney for the county, Alex Nixon, confirmed the documents were votes, but claimed that Roascio was simply shredding “ballot copies” received by email […]

February 20, 2023 . By Roy McKenzie

ES&S Security Head “Can’t think of one” When Asked Reason Montana Election Records Switched Off

At the weekly Joint Select Committee on Election Security hearing last Thursday, ES&S Vice President of Security and Chief Information Officer Christopher Woloshin testified that he could not think of any reason why county and state officials were not collecting and making available vital election records known as Cast Vote Records (CVR) generated by the […]

February 10, 2023 . By Roy McKenzie

Montana Judge Blocks Vaccine Mandate Protections for Healthcare Workers

US District Judge for the State of Montana, Donald Molloy, made his preliminary injunction from March permanent against healthcare workers seeking protection from vaccine mandates through HB-702, the vaccine non-discrimination law. On Friday, Molloy ordered that the state cannot use provisions applied to Montana Code by HB-702 to defend the interests of Montana healthcare workers […]

December 10, 2022 . By Roy McKenzie

Yellowstone County Poll Watchers Share Irregularities During 2022 Vote Count

The following is a transcribed version of Yellowstone County poll watcher Skyler Kincaid’s public comment during the Yellowstone County Commissioners meeting on November 21st. In his statement, Kincaid summarizes his concerns about irregularities in the tabulation of election results and inconsistencies with the public comments made to the Montana media regarding the reason for result […]

November 22, 2022 . By Roy McKenzie

Election Software CEO Responds to Montana Secretary of State Inquiry

Votem, the election software company that administers Montana’s online voting portal for military service members and overseas citizens, responded to a letter from Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen asking about the nature of the company’s relationship with Konnech, Inc. and Eugene Yu. Western Montana News previously reported that Konnech CEO Eugene Yu was on the […]

October 19, 2022 . By Roy McKenzie

Montana Legislators Ask AG for Konnech Voting Software Halt Pending Investigation

Members of the Montana Legislature have signed a letter asking the Attorney General to conduct an investigation into Konnech, an elections software company that developed and operated the state’s online voting portal for military and overseas citizen voters, called the Montana Electronic Absentee System (EAS). The company’s ties with Montana go as far back as […]

October 14, 2022 . By Roy McKenzie

Montana Voting Software Linked to Chinese Data Leak Arrest

Update (Oct 14, 2022): Montana Legislators have requested that the Montana Attorney General open an investigation into Konnech and Konnech-related software applications in use by the State of Montana and a pause on any continued use of such software pending the completion of an investigation. Read more. Montana voting software that allows military, overseas citizens, […]

October 5, 2022 . By Roy McKenzie

Montana Democrats Abortion Privacy Defense Falls Flat After COVID Authoritarianism

After two years of Montana Democrats gleefully and vigorously advocating for the forced-masking and forced-vaccination of their fellow Montanans, their sudden defense of “health privacy” in service of codifying abortion into Montana law through judicial activism exposes not only their hypocrisy, but their ignorance. Prominent Montana Democrats including former elected Democrats and Democrat-aligned non-profits have […]

September 30, 2022 . By Roy McKenzie