Voter turnout in Stutsman County lower than 2022 general election

John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun By Masaki Ova November 07, 2026 at 6:54 AM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? JAMESTOWN — The voter turnout in Stutsman County for the 2026 general election was lower than in 2022. Stutsman County had 6,397 ballots cast out of 17,217 eligible voters for a turnout of 37.16%. ADVERTISEMENT “I was happy with the numbers,” said Jessica Alonge, Stutsman County auditor/chief operating officer. “I thought that it went pretty well.” The 6,397 ballots cast include 3,649 at the Jamestown Civic Center on Tuesday, 277 at the Medina precinct, 1,881 from early voting from Oct. 26-30 and 590 absentee ballots that were returned to Stutsman County. “The vote center (Jamestown Civic Center), I hoped we would be closer to 4,000,” Alonge said. That compares to 6,805 ballots cast out of 16,425 eligible voters for a turnout of 41.43% in 2022. The 6,805 ballots cast in 2022 include 4,248 at the Jamestown Civic Center, 307 at the Medina precinct, 1,365 from early voting and 885 absentee ballots that were returned to the county. The 2022 general election had two statewide measures on the ballot — one relating to term limits of the governor and Legislature and another related to the legalization, processing, sale and possession of cannabis. John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun The 2026 general election also included two statewide measures that both failed. Measure 1 was a constitutional amendment that would have set the threshold for passing future constitutional amendments to at least 60% of the vote. Measure 2 would have guaranteed free breakfast and lunch to every North Dakota student under the state constitution. Alonge said everything went well at the Jamestown Civic Center. ADVERTISEMENT “There were a couple periods of time where the clerk line, just waiting to check in, it seemed like it was pretty long, but people got through there in under 10 minutes,” she said. “ … There were really no lines at the judges' tables.” Alonge said a different setup at the judges’ tables helped prevent long lines. “We just split it by legislative district, rather than each ballot style,” she said. “It's easier to do that in the November election. With the primary, we have all the small city ballots, and so those are you know 18 ballot styles. For the general election, it was five.” Alonge said there was a good group of poll workers on Tuesday at the Jamestown Civic Center. “They're so respectful and helpful to voters and anybody needing assistance or accessibility or anything like that,” she said. “It gets to be a long day, but everybody was still smiling at 7 o'clock.” Alonge said the polling locations at the Jamestown Civic Center and American Legion in Medina both had voters who had not updated their addresses on their state-issued driver’s license or ID. In most instances, she said the voter was able to update their address at the polling locations on the North Dakota Department of Transportation’s website or the voter was able to get an updated state-issued driver’s license or ID at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Alonge said six voters cast set-aside ballots. The Secretary of State’s website says that means a voter can cast his or her ballot, and it is placed in an envelope to be presented to the Stutsman County Canvassing Board for review. Voters must update or present their driver’s license, non-driver’s ID, tribal ID or documentation, or long-term care certificate before the Stutsman County Canvassing Board meets at 10 a.m. Nov. 16. ADVERTISEMENT “With any of those, they are given a notice letting them know what dates and times the county auditor's office is open, and then they can bring proof of that North Dakota ID to our office,” Alonge said. “If they do that before the canvas board meeting ends on the 16th, then their ballot would be counted by the canvas board.” Stutsman County had 46 absentee ballots that were not returned to the county. Alonge said one of those 46 absentee ballots will be rejected because the county received it in the mail after Tuesday. She said another absentee ballot will go to the Stutsman County Canvassing Board for questionable signatures on the ballot and the voter affidavit. “The absentee board felt that they were a little bit different so they wanted the canvass board to make a determination on that,” Alonge said, referring to the signatures. She said the county will send a letter to the voter to notify the individual that the signatures were questioned. “We give them the date and time of the canvass board (meeting) and let them know that they can verify their signature,” she said. “There's a form they would fill out, and then we would take it to the canvass board, and it would be counted there. If we don't hear from the voter, then the canvass board would make the determination whether they feel the signatures match or not.” Election results are unofficial until the Stutsman County Canvassing Board meets to certify them at 10 a.m. on Nov. 16. ADVERTISEMENT Stutsman County will conduct a post-election audit at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 9, in the commission room at the Stutsman County Courthouse in Jamestown. Post-election audits help further validate tabulation methods after the election, which ensures continued accuracy and integrity of elections in the state, according to the Secretary of the State’s website. The website says post-election audits validate election outcomes and provide transparency in election administration. The Office of the Secretary of the State will choose a random polling location in Stutsman County for the post-election audit. The ballots reviewed can be from the polling locations at the Jamestown Civic Center or the American Legion in Medina or early vote or absentee precincts, according to the North Dakota Office of the Secretary of the State’s website. The number of ballots in the post-election audit is determined by which precinct is selected. Alonge said it will be a minimum of 25 ballots and a maximum of 300 that are included in the post-election audit. The contests audited are chosen from one federal, statewide, legislative or county contest. The post-election audit results and supporting documentation are sent to the secretary of state, who analyzes the results and may call for additional audit processes if discrepancies are found between the manual ballot review and the tabulated results of the post-election audit, the Office of the Secretary of the State's website says. Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags JAMESTOWN STUTSMAN COUNTY ELECTION 2026 By Masaki Ova Masaki Ova joined The Jamestown Sun in August 2021 as a reporter. He grew up on a farm near Pingree, N.D. He majored in communications at the University of Jamestown, N.D. 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