Thousands vote early in Cass and Clay Counties

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — Many people have cast their ballots in North Dakota and Minnesota for early voting.

Cass County officials say just under 5,000 people have voted across its five locations since Monday. Clay County officials say 3,400 ballots have been cast since early voting began in September.

“It’s been pretty steady. We’re quite happy with how the results are coming in. I saw this morning that just under 5,000 electors have voted in early voting in our five sites. The Hartl Ag center, the Days Inn at Casselton, the Fargodome, West Acres Mall Community Corner and Northview. We’re pretty happy to have this going. We’ve had minimal hitches. It’s working quite well,” Cass County Election Administrator Murray Nash said.

Some are confused when North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley issued an opinion last week clarifying a question by Cass County Attorney Birch Burdick. Wrigley wants to emphasize the state does not need a proof of citizenship to vote.

“Every person that comes in to vote will be asked if they are 18, they will be asked if they are a U.S. citizen and if they’ve been at their current address for greater than 30 days. If they answer yes to those three questions, it’s not challengeable,” West Acres Election Inspector Jamie Garvey said.

Proof of identification remains the same as it usually is in North Dakota. As long as you show proof that you live in the state, you’re good to vote.

“You have people that move to town and don’t change their license, so they don’t have an address that shows them being Cass County. There are a number of ways to show that. You can bring in a utility bill, a bank statement, a check stub, anything that has your name and address on can be used to show your residency,” Fargodome Election Inspector Ron Anderson said.

There is no voter registration in North Dakota. You can register at the polls in Minnesota.