North Dakota Counties Report Absentee Ballots With Missing Postmarks

At least five North Dakota counties received absentee ballots without postmarks, a situation Secretary of State Michael Howe calls “completely unacceptable.” The Burleigh County Canvassing Board voted 5-4 to accept 58 ballots received by the deadline but lacking postmarks. Lisa Hart, Burleigh County elections coordinator, said the vast majority of the ballots that were missing postmarks were received between June 12-14. Ballots had to be postmarked by June 10 and received within 13 days of the election for the votes to count.
Howe has also received similar complaints from Billings, McKenzie, Cass, and Griggs counties. He plans to address this issue with the Postal Service to ensure postmarks are applied in November.
In North Dakota, any qualified voter can vote by absentee ballot. For the June 11 primary, Howe advised counties to favor the voter if ballots were received on time but without postmarks. Burleigh County Commissioner Wayne Munson cast the tie-breaking vote to count these ballots, while Auditor Mark Splonskowski, citing state law, voted against it.
Additionally, the Burleigh County Canvassing Board accepted three absentee ballots postmarked incorrectly due to an at-home postage machine error. Overall, the board accepted 96 absentee ballots and rejected 68.