(Thanks to the North Dakota Monitor for help on the story.)
The Legislature has passed and sent to Governor Armstrong a bill that would affect when mail-in absentee ballots are due.
It’s part of what Secretary of State Michael Howe called an election “clean-up bill.” Howe said this aligns with an executive order from President Trump that forbids states from counting mail-in ballots received after election day.
"North Dakota had a 13-day acceptance period, for absentee ballots to come in after election day," Howe said. "That's as long as the ballot is postmarked the day prior to the election."
Howe said House Bill 1165 changes that.
"All ballots must be in to the county offices by the close of the polls, with an exemption for overseas citizens and military voters. That also matches the executive order," Howe said.
Howe also said neighboring states – including Minnesota and South Dakota – already have that same deadline.
"If this would have been in-place for the 2024 general election, point-one percent of the ballots came in after election day, and would have been rejected," Howe said. "So we're talking about a very low number of ballots rejected under this proposal.'
Howe said t=his office will do a good job of letting voters know to get their ballot in on-time.
But the North Dakota League of Women Voters is urging that Governor Armstrong veto the bill. The North Dakota Monitor is reporting the League believes this would “create obstacles for rural voters, Native Americans, seniors and people with disabilities.”
