North Dakota
Ballot Security
What Politicians Say
The state has made only minor changes to election law since 2020, including allowing local elections administrators to begin processing mail ballots earlier.
Due to an increase in mail ballots during the coronavirus pandemic, Republican Governor Doug Burgum signed an executive order allowing administrators to begin processing them five days before the 2020 general election.
Elections administrators had asked for the change, which can help prevent delays in counting and certifying elections.
In 2021, Burgum signed a law that allows mail ballots to be processed starting three days before the election.
Ease of Voting
North Dakota is the only state that does not require voter registration. Any eligible voter can ask for a ballot with proper identification.
A 2021 law allows public and private colleges to create an official document that can be used along with student photo ID as identification when voting.
Another new law allows voters to take up to 30 minutes to fill out a ballot.
Ballot Security
The legislature also required that signatures on mail ballots be compared to the signature on the mail ballot application and barred elections administrators from accepting private donations to run elections, such as the grants local elections administrators asked for and received from Meta Platforms Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg.
Read More: Zuckerberg’s Election Aid Spurs GOP Drive in 30 States to Ban It
How Politicians Responded to the 2020 Election
Then-Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem supported the Texas lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to intervene in the election despite some of his top advisers saying the justices would dismiss the case “in one sentence,” according to emails obtained by the Bismarck Tribune. Stenehjem died in 2022.