New ballot system for North Dakota service members to make voting easy

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BISMARCK — A new absentee ballot system will make voting easier for deployed North Dakota service members and other residents living outside of the state.

The new system through the secretary of state’s website will ensure these voters have an expedited application and timely delivery, return and counting of their ballots, Secretary of State Al Jaeger said.

Residents stationed away from their North Dakota homes can go to https://vip.sos.nd.gov/VoterInformationPortal.aspx to apply for an absentee

ballot.

Once the voter enters some basic information in the system, the data will be compared to the state’s central voter list to help identify the voter. They can choose to receive and return their ballot electronically.

There are safeguards in place to ensure no one votes multiple times, Jaeger said.

Last year, North Dakota became the second state in the nation — after Utah — to pass the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act. Since then, the state has worked to create the new system and asked military members to help test it.

Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk said men and women in uniform put their lives on the line for the country’s freedoms and appreciate everything that can be done so they can exercise their right to vote.

There are about 275 North Dakota National Guardsmen now serving

overseas.

Jaeger also announced other election-related improvements this week. The state’s new election site is at www.nd.gov/sos/electvote.

The website includes portals for voter information, ballot measures and election results. The results of all statewide elections back to statehood are now available online, Jaeger said.

More than 100 county election officials attended an election conference in Bismarck this week to prepare for the June and November elections. Sessions covered ballot preparation, election law, and voter and poll worker education efforts.

Finneman is a multimedia reporter for Forum Communications Co.

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