Ballot Error Affects District 7 Voters in Bismarck

Bismarck Voting Error Hands District 7 Residents Wrong Ballots on Election Day

“Some of them who got the wrong ballot, they came back and noticed they got the wrong ballot, and that was corrected. But there might have been some people who didn’t realize they had the wrong ballot,” said Aaron Birst, the election inspector on site at Liberty Elementary in Bismarck.

Due to a mix-up early Tuesday, certain voters in Bismarck’s District 7 were given a faulty ballot that lacked the area’s legislative contests. The mix-up occurred at the Liberty Elementary polling location, which opened its doors at 7 a.m. Election workers caught and corrected the error by approximately 9:30 a.m. after discovering that a portion of District 7 voters had been erroneously handed ballots designated for District 8, a neighboring area featuring no legislative contests on the ballot this year.

Birst estimated that roughly 120 people cast their votes before workers halted the process and fixed the distribution stack. About half of those early voters utilized touch-screen voting machines, which were not affected. Consequently, the incorrect ballot distribution is estimated to have affected a maximum of 30 to 60 paper ballots. A dozen of those voters noticed the missing legislative contests, alerted on-site workers, and received the correct version for their residential district.

Workers Intermingle Ballot Versions with Similar Numbers

The root of the issue traced back to how election workers organized paper ballots prior to handing them out to arriving citizens. The Liberty Elementary polling location serves four distinct precincts—two located in District 7 and two in District 8—with each precinct maintaining its own specific ballot version. Workers kept each version in a separate stack of blank papers, handing the appropriate stack to voters based on their home address.

Ballot Error Affects District 7 Voters in Bismarck — Photo: northdakotamonitor.com

Birst explained that two of those ballot versions became physically intermingled because their numerical identifiers were very similar. This logistical overlap caused election workers to inadvertently hand District 8 ballots to individuals who actually resided in District 7. Statewide contests, including two ballot measures, were unaffected by the mishap. The inclusion or exclusion of District 7 House and Senate races represented the sole distinction separating the two paperwork variants.

North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe addressed the situation, noting that no remedy exists for citizens who already fed the incorrect paperwork into a vote tabulator. You’ve already cast a ballot, Howe said, expressing frustration for the affected candidates and the voters who remained unaware of the omission.

Howe emphasized that state election officials sprang into action as soon as they could, adding that one error is too many. He noted that he was unaware of similar errors occurring anywhere else across the state during the Tuesday contest. Howe stated that this occurrence underscores why state election officials urge residents to check their sample ballots online beforehand to familiarize themselves with the upcoming contests.

Candidates Worry Voters Missed Legislative Choices

The legislative races on the line in District 7 feature Sen. Michelle Axtman, R-Bismarck, and Democratic challenger Kevin Horneman. Meanwhile, Democrats Jason Thoms and Tiffany Williams-Rice are mounting campaigns alongside Republicans Steve Sauter and Greg Vetter for the pair of available District 7 House seats.

Thoms expressed relief that workers caught the error early on Election Day, though he acknowledged the gravity of the oversight. It’s disappointing to hear a mistake was made, Thoms said, pointing out that the primary concern is some voters may not have had the opportunity to vote for their next legislators.

Axtman cast her own ballot at Liberty Elementary on Tuesday morning, noting that she received several calls from voters who had received ballots without her name on it. Expressing assurance, the senator believes the county auditor and the Secretary of State’s Office will successfully ascertain how far-reaching the mistake was. Thankfully, I got a ballot with my name on it, Axtman said.

Meanwhile, state election administration also intersected with federal oversight as the U.S. Department of Justice deployed monitors to Cass County as part of a nationwide initiative coordinated by the agency’s Civil Rights Division. U.S. Attorney Nick Chase confirmed that three members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota volunteered for the federal monitoring program. Carol Sawicki, treasurer for the League of Women Voters of North Dakota—an organization that fielded 30 to 35 observers in Cass County—reported that the federal monitors visited multiple polling sites without disrupting operations or questioning voters.