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North Dakota state executive official elections, 2016

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North Dakota Executive Official Elections
Top Ballot
Governor and Lt. Governor • Treasurer
Down Ballot
Auditor • Insurance Commissioner
Public Service Commission
Superintendent of Schools

The Peace Garden State
Key election dates
Filing deadline (major parties):
April 11, 2016
Party conventions:
March 31-April 2, 2016Democratic Party
April 1-3, 2016Republican Party
Primary date:
June 14, 2016
Filing deadline (independents):
September 6, 2016
Filing deadline (write-ins):
October 18, 2016
General election date:
November 8, 2016
Recount request deadline:
TBD
Inauguration:
December 15, 2016

Seven state executive offices in North Dakota were up for election in 2016:

Context of the 2016 elections

Primary elections

A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. North Dakota utilizes an open primary system, in which voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1][2][3] In North Dakota, major party candidates are usually nominated or endorsed by the party at the state conventions, which take place prior to the primary elections. Often, candidates who do not receive the endorsements do not file to run in the primary, however that is not mandatory and major party candidates can and do run in the primary regardless of receiving the official party nod.

Primary contests for nonpartisan elections take the form of a top-two primary, with the top-two vote getters advancing to the general election.

North Dakota's primary elections took place on June 14, 2016.

Party control in North Dakota

North Dakota has been under Republican trifecta control since 1995, and Republicans have seen comfortable margins of victory in recent statewide elections. The 2012 Republican Dalrymple/Wrigley ticket for governor won by a nearly 30-point margin.[4] In 2014, Attorney General Stenehjem won a fifth term in office with over 74 percent of the vote.[5]

However, recent elections have also shown that popular Democrats can and do win statewide elections in North Dakota. Most recently, Heidi Heitkamp (D) narrowly defeated her Republican opponent in the United States Senate race in 2012, even as Mitt Romney carried the state by a nearly 20-point margin and Dalrymple was elected governor by an even larger margin.[6] Before Heitkamp, North Dakotans were represented in the United States Senate by Democrat Kent Conrad, who won election five times. During his 1992 re-election bid, he defeated Jack Dalrymple by a 30-point margin.[7][8]

Six of the seven state executive offices up for election this year were held by Republicans; the remaining office, superintendent of public instruction, is nonpartisan. In fact, of all partisan executive positions in North Dakota, 11 of the 14 offices, are held by Republicans. The Republican Party has had a stronghold on state executive government for decades. The last Democrat to serve as state auditor left office in 1894; no Democrat filed to run for the seat in 2016. Though the treasurer's office was split nearly equally between Democratic and Republican control from 1965 to 2016, before that Republicans had held the seat since 1895. With the exception of 1985 to 2000, Republicans have also controlled the attorney general's office since 1895, and apart from 1989 to 1992, have held the office of secretary of state since 1889.[9]

2016 elections

Elections by office

Governor and Lt. Governor

Treasurer

Auditor

Insurance commissioner

Public Service Commission

Superintendent of schools


Voter registration

For full information about voting in North Dakota, contact the state election agency.

Registration

North Dakota is the only state without a formal voter registration procedure. Instead, the following system is used.[14]

“ Precincts in North Dakota maintain a list of voters who have voted in previous elections. When a voter approaches a polling location they are 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.[14]

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.[14]

If the voter is not on the list and no poll worker is able to vouch for them, 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 is choosing not to vote.[14]

Falsely swearing to be a qualified elector is a class A misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of one-year imprisonment, a fine of $2,000, or both.[14][15]

”
—North Dakota Secretary of State


Past elections

2015

There were no state executive elections in North Dakota in 2015.

2014

Six state executive offices were up for election including attorney general, secretary of state, agriculture commissioner, tax commissioner and two seats on the North Dakota Public Service Commission.

2013

There were no elections in North Dakota in 2013.

2012

Seven state executive offices were up for election including governor, lieutenant governor, auditor, treasurer, insurance commissioner, superintendent of schools and one seat on the North Dakota Public Service Commission.

State profile

Demographic data for North Dakota
 North DakotaU.S.
Total population:756,835316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):69,0013,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:88.7%73.6%
Black/African American:1.6%12.6%
Asian:1.2%5.1%
Native American:5.3%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
Two or more:2.2%3%
Hispanic/Latino:2.9%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:91.7%86.7%
College graduation rate:27.7%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$57,181$53,889
Persons below poverty level:12.2%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in North Dakota.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in North Dakota

North Dakota voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in North Dakota, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.[16]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. North Dakota had three Retained Pivot Counties, 1.66 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More North Dakota coverage on Ballotpedia

See also

North Dakota State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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North Dakota State Executive Offices
North Dakota State Legislature
North Dakota Courts
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016
North Dakota elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016
Party control of state government
State government trifectas
State of the state addresses
Partisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed January 6, 2014
  2. ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and 'Top Two,'" accessed January 6, 2014
  3. ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
  4. ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "NORTH DAKOTA OFFICIAL ABSTRACT OF VOTES CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION HELD ON NOVEMBER 6, 2012," accessed Aug. 24, 2015
  5. ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "Official Results, General Election - November 4, 2014
  6. ↑ The New York Times, "Election 2012: North Dakota," accessed August 24, 2015
  7. ↑ U.S. News, "10 things you didn't know about Kent Conrad," accessed Aug. 24, 2015
  8. ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "OFFICIAL ABSTRACT OF VOTES CAST AT THE SPECIAL ELECTION HELD DECEMBER 4,1992," accessed Aug. 24, 2015
  9. ↑ [digitalhorizonsonline.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/ndbb/id/16584 Digital Horizons, "North Dakota state blue book, 2015-2017," accessed June 10, 2016]
  10. ↑ John Hageman, Forum News Service, "Becker, a candidate for North Dakota governor, argues for small role for government," November 14, 2015
  11. ↑ Star Tribune, "North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple says he won't seek re-election in 2016, cites family," August 24, 2015
  12. ↑ RedState, "North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple’s retirement puts Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in quite the pickle," August 25, 2015
  13. ↑ Valley News Live, "North Dakota Lt. Governor Drew Wrigley says he will not run for governor after admitting affair," September 28, 2015
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 North Dakota Secretary of State, "North Dakota ... The Only State Without Voter Registration," accessed June 10, 2014
  15. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  16. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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