Ward County preps for in-person voting

MINOT, N.D. - After having all mail-in voting due to COVID-19 for local elections, election officials in Ward County are planning for a return to in-person voting this November.

Staff with the Ward County Auditor/Treasurer’s office said that they are in the early stages of planning to have polling places available for elections in November with COVID-19 guidelines in place.

Early voting is currently scheduled from Oct. 26-30, and Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Ward County Administration Building.

Recruiting for poll workers has already begun with training expected to begin earlier this year to allow for social distancing an enough time to train them on the new equipment.

“We’ll have PPE in place for all of our poll workers, making sure things are clean and trying to socially distance people. But we’ve heard the call that people did want to have polling places and that is what we are planning on doing,” said Interim Auditor/Treasurer Marisa Haman.

The administration building is the only location in the county for early voting.

The Auditor/Treasurer's Office said the county has not settled on the number of voting precincts yet, but when they are decided they will only be open for in-person voting on election day.

Anyone interesting in becoming a poll workers should call the Auditor/Treasurer’s Office for more information at: 701-857-6420.