BISMARCK — All voting in North Dakota’s June 9 primary election will be conducted by mail as all polling places will be closed due to safety concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is important for North Dakota voters to recognize there will be no in-person voting anywhere in the state for the June election,” a news release from the North Dakota County Auditors Association said. “Voting by mail will be the only option across the state. Voters should take the steps necessary to vote using Vote by Mail to ensure their vote is counted.”
An executive order issued by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on March 26 allowed all counties to conduct Vote by Mail and suspended the requirement that all counties have at least one physical polling location.
Voters must apply for a mail-in ballot by May 28. The North Dakota Secretary of State’s Office has mailed 600,000 ballot applications to potential voters and applications are available to be downloaded and printed at vote.nd.gov . Voters should mail completed applications to their county auditor.
Once a voter’s application is received, the ballot will be mailed to the voter.
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Completed ballots must be signed, dated, and mailed back in the envelope provided. They must be postmarked by June 8 or dropped off at a secure ballot drop box by 4 p.m. June 9.
If all voters who have applied for and received ballots vote in the June 9 primary, North Dakota will see record-setting voter participation, the auditors association said. Counties have sent 160,000 ballots to voters, exceeding the 115,226 and 139,959 votes cast in the 2018 and 2016 primaries respectively.
