North Dakota
Port: Addled by paranoia, North Dakota Republicans don't even trust themselves to run a fair election
MINOT — Gov. Doug Burgum
opting not to run for a third term
has set off a reshuffling of state politics
as various Republicans jockey and posture to take advantage.
This means that this spring’s NDGOP convention looks like it will be…sporty.
It’s a lucky turn of events for party chair Sandi Sanford. The NDGOP
has struggled with fundraising
on her watch as Trump-era divides in the party show up in the party’s finances. Things have gotten so bad that the party jacked up the cost of participating in the state convention, nearly doubling the fees delegates will have to pay.
Being a delegate this year will cost a whopping $150, according to the party’s registration information. That’s up more than 76% from the $85 fee charged at the 2022 state convention. A party membership, which is also a prerequisite, is $50, and many districts also charge their own dues to local activists. Attending the annual prayer breakfast and governor’s dinner will also cost $35 and $125, respectively, plus whatever food, travel and lodging costs the delegates accrue.
By contrast, the Democratic-NPL doesn’t require a delegate fee. They have just a $100 suggested donation, party chair Adam Goldwyn told me, though, admittedly, the Democrats aren’t quite the same draw in North Dakota as the Republicans are.
It’s a lot of money to shell out for participation, and if the convention weren’t as likely to feature competitive endorsement races as it is now, I suspect many Republicans would have given it a pass.
Now,
with heated competitions likely for governor and U.S. House,
interest should be higher. But, despite the higher fees, Republican delegates will be greeted in Fargo by a slow, confusing, error-prone process of pen-and-paper voting. Anyone who has attended a NDGOP state convention over the last couple of decades, and has sat through seeming interminable delays, knows what a slogging chore voting on things like resolutions, rules, delegates and candidates can be.
The party considered moving to a system of electronic voting, speeding things up and improving accuracy — and they even went so far as to get a bid from a vendor to provide those services — but the MAGA wing of the party nixed the whole thing.
I’m told by people who attended the Jan. 20 state committee meeting that the vendor gave a detailed presentation about the voting system. Some party leaders, including Vice Chair John Trandem, argued that electronic voting would not only be faster but more secure and accurate. The paper balloting process relies on ballots being printed out in the convention hall and distributed to the hundreds and sometimes thousands of delegates, who then mark them and turn them in to their district chairs, who turn them over to be counted.
The ballots go through a lot of hands. There are a lot of humans involved who could, if they have nefarious intent, manipulate the process. Or, more likely, make an honest mistake.
Electronic voting makes more sense to reasonable people, among whose number we cannot count the sort of Republicans who have bought into disgraced former President Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. The NDGOP’s technology committee recommended, by way of an 8-5 vote, the use of electronic voting at the state convention. Unfortunately, the state committee, made up of local committee chairs from around the state, voted it down 26-30.
Before you tell me this seems too crazy to believe, remember that a ballot measure currently being circulated would change state election law in many ways, including the banning of electronic voting machines. The chair of that ballot measure committee — risibly, they call their proposal the
“election integrity act”
— promoted stolen election twaddle to state lawmakers during their 2022 session, including the claim that the U.S. Supreme Court had overturned the 2020 election in
a “secret docket” ruling.
Go ahead and laugh if you want. It is a very stupid claim to make, and only the foolishly gullible, the MAGA movement’s legions of useful idiots, really believe it. But then remember that people who believe that sort of thing make up a majority of the Republicans who are showing up to party committee meetings and conventions.
Useful idiots, indeed.
This is why the NDGOP can’t use a safe, secure electronic voting process to count votes at its state convention. And, should the aforementioned ballot measure get any traction, it could also be why voting in our state’s elections becomes more arduous and less secure.
Because the NDGOP’s base is so paranoid, they don’t even trust themselves.
North Dakota
The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion to the ND State Auditor – North Dakota Attorney General
04 Mar The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion to the ND State Auditor
in Opinions
March 4, 2026
Media Contact: Suzie Weigel, 701.328.2210
BISMARCK, ND – It is the opinion that federal law does not prevent the state from auditing P&A and even though P&A possesses confidential records, N.D.C.C. § 54-10-22.1 and 42 C.F.R. § 51.45(c) authorize the state auditor and the employees of the auditor’s office, to review the records without detriment to P &A.
Also, whether Rule 1.6 of the North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct for licensed attorneys prohibits P&A from disclosing to the State Auditor the contents of a client file for the purpose of conducting a non-financial performance audit under N.D.C.C. ch. 54-10 when the requested file includes information about individuals and businesses in the private sector who chose to contact P &A.
This issue was already addressed in a 1995 opinion of this office regarding P&A. The 1995 opinion highlighted that P&A has authority to contract with private attorneys to represent private individuals. 17 During that performance audit, auditors asked to see billings from the contracted attorneys. 18 P&A redacted the names of the individuals represented by the contract attorneys under the rules for attorney-client privilege or attorney-client confidentiality. 19 The names of individuals seeking services of P&A are protected under N.D.C.C. § 25-01.3. The opinion stated:
Thus, P&A’s records which indicate to whom its services were provided are available to the State Auditor for performance audit purposes. The State Auditor has
been given access by P&A to its records other than the attorney’s billings. Therefore, the State Auditor already has access to the names of the persons to whom P&A
provides services. State law requires that the State Auditor and his employees must keep such information confidential.
Here, P&A has not identified a specific record. Given that, I rely on the past opinions declaring that records made confidential by N.D.C.C. § 25-01.3-10 are available under N.D.C.C. § 54-10-22 to the State Auditor and the Auditor’s employees for audit purposes.
Link to opinion 2026-L-01
###
North Dakota
Angler may have broken North Dakota’s perch record on Devils Lake
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A Wisconsin angler may have reeled in a new North Dakota state record yellow perch on Devils Lake.
Alan Hintz of Stevens Point, Wis., caught the fish while fishing with Perch Patrol Guide Service’s Tyler Elshaug. North Dakota Game Warden Jon Peterson weighed the perch at 2.99 pounds and measured it at 16.5 inches at Woodland Resort.
The current state record perch of 2 pounds, 15 ounces was caught by Kyle Smith of Carrington, N.D., also on Devils Lake, on March 28, 1982.
The catch is still considered unofficial. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department requires a four-week waiting period to verify all details before officially recognizing a new state record.
Steve Dahl with Perch Patrol Guide Service confirmed the details to Valley News Live. Dahl said overall perch numbers on Devils Lake are down this year, but anglers are seeing more fish weighing over 2 pounds.
Devils Lake is one of North Dakota’s most popular ice fishing destinations, known for producing trophy-sized perch.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
The Democratic Spirit: Reflections on North Dakota History and the Declaration of Independence at 250 – America250
A state and national public forum comprising a lecture, and then a question-answer session. Kwame Anthony Appiah’s lecture commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and explore its enduring significance in American life. Appiah’s scholarship on ethics, identity, and cosmopolitanism offers a unique lens for examining democratic ideals in a diverse society. By connecting these themes to North Dakota’s historical narrative, the forum fosters civic engagement, intellectual discourse, and cultural understanding within our community.
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