“It might not get much attention or make the headlines, but this election could really make a difference for me and my neighbors.”
That’s Montana State University junior Julian Staggs, who at 19 is voting in his first election and plans to cast a ballot for the board of the state’s public utility commission. Such down-ballot races for an often-overlooked arm of state bureaucracy usually don’t attract too many voters. But in the red state of Montana, it’s one of two statewide elections (along with Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s tough fight to keep his seat and potentially the balance of power in that chamber) that could make a big difference, locally and nationally, in how the nation addresses climate change.
