by Maria Rodriguez-McKey

Although North Dakota is sparsely populated (3.6 inhabitants by square kilometers compared with 93.6 inhabitants for France) it makes up for it by the quantity of its churches. It has the most churches per capita than any state in the United States. The majority of the population is Lutheran of German and Norwegain ancestry. The state capital is called Bismark. It’s more than 90% white.



Although North Dakota was one of the first states to adopt voter registration (1895) it abolished it in 1951. Now it is the only state that doesn’t. Back in 1993 the Federal Government passed a law (National Voter Registration Act or NVRA) by which individuals could register while applying for public assistance, a driver’s licence, etc. After NVRA there was HAVA (Help America Vote Act) which passed and was signed into law by Bush in 1002. HAVA requires states develop a single, uniform, official, centralized, interactive computerized statewide voter registration list defined, maintained, and administered at the State level (Previously, voter registration lists were maintained by local officials.) Well, North Dakota is exempted from the HAVA and NVRA provisions because they do not have a voter register. Nevertheless, their Legislative Assembly adopted Senate Bill No. 2394 which provided for the creation of a “central voter file”. Now, this is not a record of who can vote but of who has voted in the previous elections. When a voter approaches a polling location he is asked to provide an acceptable form of identification. Then the election board will attempt to locate the voter’s name on the voting list. If the voter’s name is on the list, the voter’s name and address are verified and the voter is then allowed to vote. If the voter is not on the list, but an election worker knows the voter to be a qualified elector of the precinct the poll worker may vouch for the voter. The voter then has the right to vote. If the voter is not on the list and no poll worker is able to vouch for him, the voter may be challenged. As part of the challenge, the voter is asked to sign an affidavit swearing to the fact that he or she is a qualified elector of the precinct and therefore qualified to vote in the precinct. If the voter agrees to sign the affidavit, the voter must be allowed to vote. If the voter refuses to sign the affidavit, the voter may be denied the right to vote. After all this is said, North Dakota law provides cities with the ability to register its voters for city elections. But it is a question of choice: cities may or may not do it. The only city that does so – Medora – is a small city located in the southwestern part of the state.

North Dakota’s unusual way of dealing with voter registration, plus the fact that some states have registration on election day, has important repercussions on the way turnout of the whole United States is worked out by the census. The figures on turnout are not calculated in relation to the number of registered voters but in relation to all people over 18 living in the United States whatever their nationality or their right to vote (legal or medical impediments). Therefore, the often cited turnout figure of +50% cannot be compared with the international figures because it is not calculated on the same base. The international figures should be compared with the registered voters, which is the case of most states, and those on the lists of North Dakota, Wisconsin and the other states: the result we obtain is +70% voter turnout for the US. This is similar to what we have seen around the world. Please note that registration is voluntary in the United States. There is a very high level of mobility from city to city and from state to state which accounts for the higher figures of non registered voters, around 20% while one finds only 10% in France.