4. "Help America Vote Act" - Laserfiche WebLink

I Help America Vote Act ~ STATE OVERVIEW - BACKGROUND AND CURRENT PRACTICES: · GOVERNING POWER Elections in the state of North Dakota are administered at the county level. North Dakota has 53 demographically diverse counties. The most populous, Cass County has 90,599 residents within their county seat of Fargo. Conversely, Amidon, the county seat of Slope County has a population of 26 citizens and is followed closely by the 49 residents of Manning, the county seat of Dunn County. The number of voting precincts administered per county ranges from three to 67, which totaled 666 precincts in the 2002 general election. The counties are served by a combination of elected and appointed county election officials. North Dakota's county election officials are responsible to the Secretary of State for administering all aspects of election management within their respective counties, including state election laws, rules and regulations [NDCC 16.1-01- As the state's chief election official, the Secretary of State is elected and charged with the oversight of all elections, including administration of state election law, election official training, candidate filings, candidate certification, campaign finance and disclosure oversight, and compilation of election results [NDCC 16.1-01]. · VOTING EQUIPMENT For elections, North Dakota has 44 counties that use optical scan voting systems, eight counties that use hand-count paper ballot voting systems, and one county that uses a punch-card voting system. Williams County, the only county using a punch-card voting system, will be used as a model pilot project for equipment replacement, precinct administration and training for election officials and voters in 2004. In addition to traditional Election Day voting methods, North Dakota also offers absentee voting to all qualified electors wishing and requesting to vote absentee. Through the course of implementing HAVA in North Dakota, it is the goal of the Secretary of State and county election officials to bring uniformity to the voting process in the state and to ensure all qualified electors have access to the election process. · VOTER OUTREACH The state has voters that range from those who are computer savvy to those who are uncomfortable and unfamiliar with technology. Therefore, state and county election officials need to utilize resources that connect with all voters, regardless of their abilities. The Internet is currently used as a primary tool for providing and distributing information to voters. Other major mediums, including television, radio and print, are resources that will be utilized more extensively in the future. The state will work cooperatively with private and public entities, including institutions of government and higher education, to better educate specific citizen groups and general citizens about voting and the election process. The state will achieve this using voter educational materials in a variety of accessible formats, along with hands-on instruction and training on the new voting systems that will be used. Proposed North Dakota State }-lAVA Plan - For Pt~hlic Rcvic~' Page 3 of 21