Summary

About

Contact

Locations

Secretary of State
600 E Boulevard Avenue Dept 108
Bismarck ND 58505-0500
Phone: 800-352-0867
Fax: 701-328-2992

Web

North Dakota Elections, Ballot measures

Registering to Vote

General Information

Who can register

North Dakota does not have voter registration, but to be eligible to vote you must:

• be at least 18 years old on the day of election
• be a resident of North Dakota
• reside in the precinct for 30 days preceding Election Day
• be able to provide a drivers license, non-driver identification card or other approved form of identification

How to register

North Dakota does not have voter registration.

Election Day registration
North Dakota does not have voter registration. You simply need to bring valid proof of ID and residency to the polls in order to vote.

Voting Rights restoration

If you have been convicted of a felony and have questions about whether you can register to vote, visit Restore Your Vote to determine your eligibility.

Registration Status (form)

New Registration (form)

Voting

General Information

Voting as a Student

Learn more from Campus Vote Project about voting for students.

Overseas and Military Voting

You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation.

If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Voting with Disabilities

f you are a disabled voter you may be accompanied by, and receive assistance from, another person of your choice in the voting booth, unless the person is an employer, officer or agent of your union, a candidate running in that election, or a relative of a candidate.

The polling place building should have several routes through it, and sufficient signs should be in place to direct you to the most accessible route to the polling location.

For more information you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.

Early Voting

Early voting is available and no excuse is required. Please check with local county election officials for specific dates and times.

Vote by Mail (Absentee)

Absentee ballot rules

• Any North Dakota resident may apply for an absentee ballot and vote by mail.

How to get Absentee ballot

1. Use our Absentee Ballot form below to prepare your application.
2. Sign and date the form. This is very important!
3. Return your completed application to your Local Election Office as soon as possible. We’ll provide the mailing address for you.
4. All Local Election Offices will accept mailed or hand-delivered forms. If it’s close to the deadline, call and see if your Local Election Office will let you fax or email the application.
5. Make sure your application is received by the deadline. Your application must actually arrive by this time — simply being postmarked by the deadline is insufficient.
6. Please contact your Local Election Office if you have any further questions about the exact process.

What to do next

• Once you receive the ballot, carefully read and follow the instructions.
• Sign and date where indicated.
• Mail your voted ballot back to the address indicated on the return envelope.
• Your voted ballot must arrive by the deadline or it will not be counted.

Absentee ballot application deadline

• In Person:
• By Mail: No specific deadline. We recommend requesting your ballot at least 7 days before Election Day.

Absentee ballot submission deadline

Postmarked 1 day before Election Day and received 5 days after Election Day.

Absentee Ballot (form)

Elections Alert (Form)

Pollling Information

Polling Place Locator

You can find your polling place by utilizing your state resource.

If you have further questions on your polling place location, please contact your county clerk.

Polling Place Hours

Most polls are open 7am- 7pm. Some polls may open earlier or close later. It is best to check with your local county election officials before Election Day.

Poll Worker Information

In order to be a poll worker in North Dakota, you must:

• Be registered to vote in North Dakota
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Political affiliation required
• Be entitled to compensation
• Be a resident of the precinct for the 30 days prior to the election
• Complete required training
• Students 16 or 17 years old who meet all other voter requirements may be appointed if they are students in good standing at a North Dakota high school
• Have basic computer skills, and be able to proofread materials, printed or on a screen, for accuracy
• Be able to work the entire day

To sign up, contact your local board of elections.

North Dakota Elections

Secretary of State

Secretary of State Al Jaeger was elected North Dakota’s fourteenth Secretary of State in 1992 and was reelected in 1996, 2000, 2004 (two-year term), 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018.

He serves on the North Dakota Emergency Commission, the Board of the North Dakota State Historical Society, and the North Dakota Board of University and School Lands.

Since becoming Secretary of State on January 1, 1993, Jaeger has been an active participant in the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). He has served ten terms on its Executive Committee and in July 2019, he was appointed to his 24th consecutive term as Chairman of the NASS Standing Committee on Awards.

Jaeger was born in Beulah, ND in 1943. Raised in Beulah, he graduated from its high school in 1961. He attended Bismarck State College and in 1963 earned an Associate of Arts degree. In 1966, he received a Bachelor of Science degree from Dickinson State University majoring in Business Education with a minor in Speech. He also took post-graduate courses at the University of North Dakota in 1968 and Montana State University in 1970. Jaeger was chosen by the Bismarck State College National Alumni Association as the recipient of the 2009 BSC Alumnus of the Year Award. In 2011, he was named by Dickinson State University as an Alumni Fellow for the Department of Business and Management.

During his high school and college years, Jaeger worked for his father’s excavating and ready-mix concrete company. He taught at Killdeer (ND) High School for three years (1966-1969) and for two years (1969-1971) at Kenmare (ND) High School. For two years (1971-1973), Jaeger worked as a marketing analyst in Fargo, ND, for the Mobil Oil Corporation. From 1973 to 1992, he was self-employed in Fargo as a real estate broker and owned his own real estate brokerage business.

He served in the North Dakota Army National Guard (1966-1972). Jaeger was an active member of Jaycee chapters in Killdeer, Kenmare, and Fargo where he was Secretary and Vice President. Before moving to Bismarck in 1993, he was an eighteen-year member of the Fargo Rough Riders Kiwanis Club where he served a term as President and several terms as club Secretary. Jaeger is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Bismarck and was its President for 2007-2008. He has been a Kiwanian for over 45 years. In Fargo, Jaeger belonged to Hope Lutheran Church and served a term as a council member, foundation board member, and for eighteen years as head usher. Now, a member of Charity Lutheran Church, Bismarck, he serves on several ministry teams.

Jaeger’s wife, Kathy, died November 24, 2016.  They have three adult children.

Although not actively practicing after his election in 1992, Jaeger maintained his North Dakota real estate broker’s license until 2018 and is an Emeritus member in the Fargo-Moorhead Area Association of REALTORS and the North Dakota Association of REALTORS. He was an officer and a member of committees pertaining to education, professional standards, by-laws, and the multiple listing service. Along with holding two professional REALTOR designations (GRI and CIS), he was named REALTOR of the Year in 1980 for the Fargo-Moorhead Area Association of Realtors (FMAAR) and was a nominee for North Dakota REALTOR of the Year. In 1997, FMAAR presented him with a Distinguished Service Award.