At the direction of the City Commission, The City of Fargo is mailing over 56,000 official applications for absentee ballots to residents today. The leaflets (a copy of which is available here) will begin arriving in residents’ mailboxes this weekend.
The leaflet illustrates that residents have two convenient options to vote in the June 2022 election – voting in-person (either early or on Election Day) or voting via mail-in ballot. The City has also launched a new section on its website FargoND.gov/Vote2022 that provides in-person voting locations and a sample ballot for resident familiarity. The leaflet includes an application for a mail-in ballot to afford an easy return of the completed mail-in ballot application to Cass County. Once received, Cass County will process the application through its normal processing procedure.
There is clear instruction on the leaflet to ensure residents understand that those wishing to vote in person do not need to fill out the application form for an absentee ballot. To avoid any confusion or ambiguity, the mailing also reiterates that North Dakota does not require voter registration in advance of an election.
City Auditor Steve Sprague said, “Our democracy depends on citizen involvement to succeed. Your voice truly matters and The City of Fargo is encouraging its residents to vote – either in person or through mail-in ballots. We hope this mass mailing effort will provide a clear roadmap for residents to choose the best voting method for each person and that we will see record turnout in our 2022 City election.”
At its June 14, 2021 meeting, the City Commission voted to direct staff to mail absentee ballots to Fargo residents for the 2022 City Election in an attempt to encourage voter participation.