Residents get out and vote early

State residents who have the opportunity to use early voting precincts are doing so in large numbers, while other residents are keeping county auditors busy processing absentee ballots.

Six North Dakota counties are offering early voting to their residents for the Nov. 4 election. Cass County saw 2,000 people cast ballots Monday at its early voting precinct at the Fargo Doublewood Inn, said Auditor Michael Montplaisir.

As of Tuesday morning, a little over 7,000 people have used the early voting precinct that opened last Monday, he said. Meanwhile, just over 9,000 absentee ballot applications have been mailed out to Cass County residents.

The 2004 presidential election generated about 10,000 overall early voting and absentee ballots, he said.

"I think there is a lot of interest in this election," Montplaisir said. "You don't have an incumbent (president) running."

Ward County started its early voting this past Thursday evening in Minot, where Auditor Devra Smestad said about 735 people had voted as of Monday. Her office also has processed 3,786 absentee ballots as of Monday, which compares to the record 4,414 absentee ballots processed in 2004.

Smestad said providing early voting is absolutely worth the effort.

"When we did it the first time in the primary, when we asked the poll workers or the voters, they said 'This is so easy,'" Smestad said of the early voting process. "From both sides, they really liked it."

The early voting sites use electronic polling books, which means poll workers don't have to hunt through the traditional sheets of paper that once held the names and addresses of eligible voters, she said.

In Stutsman County, Auditor Noel Johnson said its early voting precinct in Jamestown has seen about 1,100 voters since it opened on Monday, Oct. 20. Johnson said there are 17,000 eligible voters in the county and he also has seen about 1,800 applications for absentee ballots.

He said the turnout at the early voting precinct has been building.

"Most of our early voters are seniors. They have the time and they like the convenience," he said..

Johnson is anticipating hat before the Nov. 4 election arrives, about 30 percent of the eligible voters will have cast their ballots.

Meanwhile, Burleigh County Auditor Kevin Glatt isn't necessarily sold on the philosophy of early voting, even though its Bismarck precinct is averaging 125 people a day since it opened this past Wednesday.

"Early votes and absentees, we're doing a booming business, like the oil patch I guess," Johnson said.

He's had requests for just under 8,000 overall absentee ballots, most of which are for people who intend to be gone on Nov. 4.

"A good number of them are snowbirds, people who are going to be gone for work, college students," he said of the early voters.

While he admits a lot of people feel the early voting is more convenient, Glatt believes a piece of our history is being lost.

"I just think there is something to be said for voting on Election Day at your voting precinct; the coming together of America on Election Day, and we're losing that," he said.

"People on Election Day used to visit with neighbors; there was just a lot of civic pride on everybody doing the same thing, doing a very important great thing on Election Day," Glatt added.

Stark and Grand Forks counties also are offering early voting this election, but Williams County Auditor Beth Innis chose not to pursue the idea in Williston. Innis is, however, finding reasons to use early voting in the future.

As of Tuesday, Williams County had processed 2,602 absentee ballots and people still have four days to submit additional absentee ballots. In 2004, the office processed 3,147 absentee ballots.

"Now we're going to have to take these absentee ballots and look at them and process them," Innis said of a primary reason to offer early voting next time, as her staff wouldn't have as large a number of absentee ballots to handle.

Montplaisir said if there is one change he'd like to see in the early voting process, it would be to have the Legislature change the guidelines to allow more than one precinct. He said having an early voting precinct at opposite ends of Fargo would really help.