LIVE: How to Vote in Cass County

The plan to pick a president during a pandemic is shaping up.

It’s all anybody can talk about lately: with a pandemic on, and a president who’s been attacking the idea of mail-in ballots, how is the election going to go?

With the post office in crisis just as public pressure mounts to vote without going in person to the polls, this November’s election is bound to be like none other.

DeAnn Buckhouse is the long-time Cass County Election Coordinator, and she’s got a plan in place to present to Cass County commissioners Monday.

The first three early-voting locations in the county will open October 19th, the soonest they can open according to state law, Buckhouse said.

Elections officials will add another 3 the following week.

This time, there will be no running from precinct to precinct for voters, either.

New equipment at Cass allows for direct voting, meaning you won’t need to report to a specific precinct, unlike in years past.

Buckhouse hopes there will also be an app you can use to check how long wait times are at the different direct voting locations, although whether it’ll be ready in time is still to be seen.

Voting by mail is the big issue, though.

The Post Office, struggling under recent changes, has a lot of people wondering about its ability to handle the sudden increase in demand as masses of voters mail in their ballot for the first time.

When it comes to Cass County voters, “the earlier the better,” Buckhouse said.

If you apply now, your ballot should be one of the first ones to go out when they’ll become available, usually around September 24th.

When you return them, it’s critical not to wait until the last minute.

Ballots must be postmarked by the day before the election.

If you miss it, you can drop your ballot off in the secure dropbox in front of the Cass County courthouse by close of business the day before the election.

Buckhouse plans to have everything tallied up by the end of election night.

Polls close at 7 p.m. Election Day.

For more information:

https://www.casscountynd.gov/our-county/finance-office/elections