Stutsman County avoids late mail ballots after new deadline outreach
Stutsman County had zero late mail ballots in its first election under North Dakota’s new deadline, after staff called absentee voters about the rule change.
Stutsman County finished its first election under North Dakota’s tighter absentee-ballot deadline without a single late-arriving mail ballot. Auditor Jessica Alonge said county staff called residents who applied for absentee ballots in late May and early June to make sure they understood that ballots had to reach the auditor’s office by the close of polls on Election Day.
The change came after the 2025 Legislature passed HB 1165, which moved the receipt deadline from a postmark-based system to a hard cutoff at the end of voting, except for military and overseas voters. For the June 9 primary, absentee ballots had to be returned by close of polls. County canvassing boards met June 22 before the State Canvassing Board certified the primary results June 25.
In Stutsman County, the outreach kept mail ballots moving on time in a county where many voters rely on absentee voting around work, travel and family schedules. County election staff also told voters that ballots arriving after polls closed would be rejected even if they carried an earlier postmark. Other counties were still dealing with late returns, including Burleigh County with 37, Stark County with seven and Cass County with fewer than 20.
Burleigh County absentee ballots had to be physically received by 7 p.m. on June 9. Cass County officials did not check postmarks on late ballots because state law does not require that. In Stark County, two of the late ballots were postmarked by June 8 and would have counted under the old rule.
Statewide, North Dakota’s primary produced 125,225 ballots cast, or 20.86 percent turnout. Election-night figures showed 73,476 Election Day votes, 17,287 early votes and 34,338 absentee ballots. Statewide turnout materials from the Secretary of State’s office showed 39,644 absentee or vote-by-mail ballots sent and 34,756 returned, an 87.67 percent return rate.
The county reported 3,417 ballots cast, about 19.8 percent turnout.
The general election is set for November 3, 2026, with absentee voting scheduled to begin September 24.
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