AN ACT to amend and reenact section 16.1-06-15 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to conducting and reporting postelection audits.
Summary
SB 2175 amends North Dakota’s election law governing mandatory testing of voting systems and postelection audits. The bill keeps the pre-election logic-and-accuracy testing requirements in place, but it revises the post-election review process by requiring the secretary of state to order a random postelection audit after each statewide primary, general, and special election in one randomly selected precinct or polling location in each county. The audit must begin on the sixth day after election day and be completed by the eighth day, before county canvassing occurs.
The bill also specifies how the audit is conducted and reported. County auditors must appoint an election board to review ballots from one federal contest, one statewide contest, one legislative contest if applicable, and one county contest. If discrepancies are found, the secretary of state may require additional audits in the county, and those audit results may serve as the official record used during canvassing. After the audit, the election board must submit results to the secretary of state, who must publish them, and the ballots must be handled and stored under existing election-materials procedures.
Impact
SB 2175 directly amends section 16.1-06-15 of the North Dakota Century Code, expanding and formalizing postelection audit procedures for voting systems. It affects the secretary of state, county auditors, county recorders, election boards, and political party representatives by setting deadlines, notice requirements, ballot-handling rules, and reporting obligations. The bill strengthens post-election oversight and transparency while preserving existing pre-election testing requirements for voting equipment.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It passed the Senate unanimously, 47-0, and the House by a wide margin, 87-2, suggesting general agreement that postelection audits are a prudent election-integrity measure. The absence of committee transcript discussion also suggests the measure was not especially controversial in the legislative process.
Contention
There is no recorded committee debate in the provided materials, and the roll-call votes show only minimal opposition in the House. Any potential points of contention would likely center on the added administrative burden, the timing of audits before canvassing, and the possibility that the secretary of state can order additional audits if discrepancies are found. However, the vote totals indicate these concerns did not generate significant resistance among legislators.
A BILL for an Act to create and enact a new section to chapter 16.1-15 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the prohibition against using voting systems in certain elections; and to amend and reenact sections 16.1-06-12, 16.1-06-14, and 16.1-06-15 and subsection 1 of section 16.1-06-26 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to election security and validation.
AN ACT to create and enact a new section to chapter 16.1-01 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to prohibiting approval voting and ranked-choice voting in elections; and to amend and reenact subsection 7 of section 11-09.1-05 and subsection 9 of section 40-05.1-06 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to home rule powers in counties and cities.
AN ACT to amend and reenact section 16.1-06-07.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the printing of presidential candidate names on a general election ballot.
AN ACT to amend and reenact subsection 1 of section 54-10-14, subsection 1 of section 54-10-15, and sections 61-35-09 and 61-35-10 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to oversight of water districts.
Election judges required to transfer the record of results from a precinct to a central reporting location using a physical means of communication, and postelection review procedures required to separately review absentee and early voted ballots from ballots cast in a precinct on election day.