Frequently Asked Questions

How do I Vote by Mail?

Updated 03/11/2022

1. For the 2020 Primary Election, the North Dakota Secretary of State's office, on behalf of the McLean County Auditor's office, will mail each eligible voter in the county a mail ballot application in April 2020.
2. If the voter wants to vote in this election, the voter needs to complete the application, sign it on the signature line, seal it and return the mail ballot application to the County Auditor. Upon receipt of the completed and signed mail ballot application, a ballot specific to that voter's precinct will be delivered to the voter.
3. The voter votes their ballot in the comfort of their own home, taking time to carefully consider the questions on the ballot, and then returns the voted ballot to the County Auditor through the mail or in person any time before Election Day. Please be sure to place your voted ballot in the tan colored secrecy envelope labeled "BALLOT SECRECY ENVELOPE", seal the secrecy envelope, and then place the secrecy envelope in the white, pre-addressed, return envelope.
4. When the ballot is returned, the County Auditor matches the signature on the ballot envelope (legal affidavit) with the signature on the application and organizes the returned ballots (still in their sealed envelopes) for counting by the Absentee Election Board.
5. The Absentee Election Board will consist of a  minimum of  two clerks, an inspector hired by the county, and a minimum of four judges appointed by the political parties. The Absentee Board will count the returned ballots utilizing an electronic scanning device. To ensure screcy of the ballot, the voter's ballot is returned in a secrecy envelope inside the return envelope, so those opening the return envelope with the voter's name on it WILL NEVER see the voted ballot itself as ballots are processed in anonymous groups of 25.