Cass County turnout drives early in-person voting in North Dakota primary

Nearly 50,000 North Dakotans have submitted their ballots before polls open on Election Day.

There have been 17,287 votes cast at polling locations in seven counties that have allowed citizens to show up to the polls in the week prior to Election Day, as of Monday evening. That exceeds the 2024 primary election, when 12,208 ballots were filled out at early voting locations. 

That’s despite it being a midterm election with no governor or senator race on the ballot. Early voting has largely been driven by North Dakota’s largest county. Cass County has reported 8,178 early votes cast, nearly double the 4,270 early voters in 2024. 

“I think it’s pretty clear what is driving turnout in Cass County is that Fargo mayoral race,” Secretary of State Michael Howe said last week. There are five candidates for Fargo mayor.

Total ballots cast prior to Election Day, including absentee ballots, stood at 49,808 after 6 p.m. Monday. There were 39,250 absentee and vote-by-mail ballots sent out. Of those, 82%, or 32,521, had been returned as of Monday evening. 

Approximately 80% to 85% are typically returned in primary elections over the last decade. Absentee ballots received by the time polls close on Tuesday will be counted. 

North Dakota has 600,394 eligible voters.

Sandy McMerty, deputy secretary of state, cautioned against drawing conclusions from year-to-year early voting data as it isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison. The number of counties offering early voting opportunities, and how many days those polling locations are open, can vary from election to election, potentially skewing any conclusion about turnout.  

Voters taking advantage of the opportunity to vote in person prior to Election Day are appreciative of the more convenient option, based on interviews with Burleigh County residents at their early voting polling location. 

“I don’t want to line up tomorrow,” said Calvin Motika of Bismarck after he cast his primary ballot Monday.

Motika said he was more interested in candidates for local office and measures on the ballot that would affect area schools.

Greg Lange of Bismarck dropped off absentee ballots for himself and his wife Monday at the Bismarck Burleigh County Office Building because he wanted to make sure they would be counted. 

He said he wasn’t a fan of the new law requiring absentee ballots to be received by Election Day, but he said he didn’t see a problem with it as long as people are informed.

“But I would not like them to eliminate the fact that anybody can do an absentee ballot,” Lange said. “There’s just an awful lot of people that like to do it this way, and I don’t get any joy about standing in line.”

Voters can check the secretary of state’s website to see if their absentee ballot has been received. If voters want to ensure their vote has been counted, they have the option to go to a polling location and vote in person. Their vote will register in the state’s voter system and the absentee ballot will not be counted. 

Voters can also drop off absentee ballots on Election Day to their county auditor. Absentee ballots will not be accepted at polling sites.

Polling locations and hours, for early voting and on Election Day, can be found here. Polls open between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. local time and close at 7 p.m. local time.

Read what you need to know about the North Dakota primary election here. More information about the races at issue, the candidates running for office and the ballot measure can be found in the North Dakota Monitor Voter Guide. 

Election resources are available on the Secretary of State’s website and the League of Women Voters of North Dakota voter guide. 

The primary election results can be tracked on election night by checking a new election results website launched by the Secretary of State’s Office, found here.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Michael Achterling contributed to this report.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Jacob Orledge can be reached at [email protected].