Montana's first-ever electronic filing by political candidates went smoothly, but it took much of the usual drama out of the waning minutes before the 5 p.m. deadline Thursday.

Political operatives, at least one lobbyist, reporters, staff and even a candidate or two were still hanging around Secretary of State Brad Johnson's office as the deadline approached. In keeping with long tradition, the secretary of state's office provided cookies and punch to the onlookers.

At 4:55 p.m., Johnson announced: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the official last call for filing."

No one showed up in person to file after that, although there was some late Internet activity.

Five minutes later, Johnson said, "Candidate filing for 2008 is now closed."

All that was missing this year was some excitement.

Most of the action was in cyberspace, not in the secretary of state's second-floor suite of offices in the Capitol. Many of those filing on the final day e-mailed their forms and paid their filing fees by credit card or e-check.

About a third of all candidates this year filed electronically, Johnson said.

Candidates could still file the traditional way by showing up and filling out papers in person and writing a check.

Or they could fax in their forms and have someone present the check for the filing fee.

Gone were the days when Democratic or Republican staffers would show up at last in the afternoon with some last-minute filings to fill some holes in their legislative slate.

Before candidates could fax -- much less e-mail -- their forms, Democratic Party officials sometimes would set up modern Pony Express transportation to shuttle the forms to Helena. Someone might drive them from Miles City to Forsyth and someone else would pick them up and ferry them to Billings. Another driver would take them to Livingston or Bozeman until they finally reached Helena.

In some years, Republican ranchers from eastern Montana would fly candidates or their forms across the state.

Occasionally, a surprise candidate would file at the 11th hour. In 1996, Sen. Larry Baer, R-Bigfork, paced around the secretary of state's office late in the afternoon, made a furtive phone call and, to everyone's surprise, filed for attorney general right before 5 p.m.

In 2006, while then-state Sen. Bob Keenan, R-Bigfork, visited his daughter on a student-exchange program in Costa Rica, he had his wife fax a last-minute filing form from Bigfork so he could make a surprise run for the U.S. Senate.

This year, Keenan's electronic filing was anticlimactic.

He filed for a state legislative seat, despite speculation he might jump into the U.S. Senate race again.

Another rumor that proved unfounded was that former U.S. Rep. Ron Marlenee, a Republican who represented the state's eastern congressional district from 1977-1993, might enter the U.S. Senate race.

A crew of U.S. Sen. Max Baucus' Senate and campaign staffers left the instant they learned Baucus wouldn't face a Democratic primary challenger or any additional Republicans beyond the six who did file.

Afterward, Johnson, the state's top elections official, pronounced the first use of e-filing a success: "From those who used it, rave reviews, and I can only assume it will go up."

"For some legislative candidate on the Hi-Line to not have to make that trek down here, it's good for them," he added. "Technology can be pretty cool stuff."