Cass County mail-in ballot
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota election officials on Thursday will start mailing absentee ballots for the June primary election.
To vote absentee, voters must first send an application for a ballot to their county election official. Some North Dakota counties automatically send applications to eligible residents.
Once voters’ applications are approved, they will be mailed a ballot.
Voters have multiple options for voting absentee. They can drop off their ballot at specific drop-box locations, or return it directly to their county election auditor.
Voters can also mail absentee ballots to their county auditor offices. Mail-in ballots won’t be accepted at polling places on Election Day.
Starting this year, the deadline for mail-in ballots is stricter. All ballots must be received by Election Day — June 9 — to be counted.
Previously, mail-in ballots could be counted after the polls closed as long as they were postmarked at least one day before Election Day and delivered within 13 days of the election. The North Dakota Legislature eliminated that grace period last year to mirror an executive order by President Donald Trump.
The new rule does not apply to military absentee voters. They just have to mail their ballots by the time polls close on Election Day, and their ballots must arrive by the time the canvassing board meets. The state began sending absentee ballots to North Dakota residents living overseas last week.
Deputy Secretary of State Sandy McMerty said the agency recommends that voters who wish to vote by mail fill out and send their ballots as soon as possible. The time it takes to mail ballots “can vary significantly” around the state, she said.
McMerty told the North Dakota Monitor previously that the Secretary of State’s Office doesn’t expect the deadline change to cause any issues, citing figures from the 2024 election.
“We don’t foresee significant barriers to voters as 0.1% of absentee ballots in the general election were postmarked prior to Election Day and delivered to the county after Election Day,” she said.
According to data published by the agency, about 30% of ballots cast in the 2024 primary election were absentee.
For more information on how to vote in North Dakota, visit the Secretary of State Office’s website.
The March 2025 executive order that prompted North Dakota lawmakers to change the state’s process for voting by mail is being challenged in federal courts. More than a dozen states still allow mail-in ballots to be counted after Election Day.
The Supreme Court in late March heard arguments in a lawsuit challenging the practice in Mississippi. It has yet to issue a ruling.
In March, Trump issued another election-related executive order establishing new rules for voting by mail in federal elections. The order directs the U.S. Postal Service to mail ballots only if voters are on the Trump administration’s own voter lists. Since the order applies to federal elections, it would not apply to the June primary. A group of Democratic states have filed a lawsuit over the order, which is pending in federal court.
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