FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) — Statewide, primary turnout came in just under 21%, with a little over 125,000 ballots cast across North Dakota.

Cass County, which led the state in early in-person voting, finished at about 19% overall turnout.

This was also the first year that absentee ballots had to be received by Election Day, and nearly 87% of those ballots were returned.

Fargo mayoral race turnout

Inside Fargo, the numbers get more specific. The city’s 2026 population is estimated at about 138,574 people. In the mayoral race, 21,610 ballots were cast.

If you stack that against the entire population — kids, non-citizens, everyone — that works out to about 15.6% of Fargo residents casting a vote for mayor and about 7.3% of everyone living here voting for the winner.

Election officials say there are 63,316 active voters in Fargo. Based on that, about 34.13% of eligible voters took part in the mayor’s race, and about 15.93% — nearly 16% — of eligible voters cast a ballot for Josh Boschee.

For context, state election officials say that in the last Fargo mayoral election in 2022, 23,950 votes were cast. But that primary also included a U.S. Senate contest at the top of the ballot — the kind of high-profile race that tends to draw more voters.

This time around, neither U.S. Senate seat is up, and there’s no governor’s race either, so the mayoral and local contests had to do more of the work driving turnout on their own.

Ballot shortage at Atonement Lutheran Church

Officials confirm they ran extra ballots to Atonement Lutheran Church, but say that’s normal as turnout shifts between vote centers.

According to the auditor, it didn’t create any lines they’re aware of, didn’t change the outcome, and mainly meant that some polling places took a little longer than usual to get their materials back in.

Infrastructure sales tax approved

Voters overwhelmingly approved keeping Fargo’s 1% Infrastructure Sales Tax. The measure passed with 15,255 votes, or 72.89%, in favor. 5,673 votes, or 27.11%, were against.

That means the existing 1% tax will remain in place until December 2048, rather than expiring in 2028.

FARGO — A private religious school in Fargo has teamed up with a civil liberties law firm in suing the state of North Dakota over its teacher licensing law.

Capstone Classical Academy and the nonprofit Institute for Justice, based in Arlington, Virginia,

filed a 50-page federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court

in North Dakota on Wednesday, June 10.

They challenge what they call the nation’s “most extreme” teacher licensing law, which keeps people with doctorate degrees, working professionals and other qualified experts out of private school classrooms unless they first complete a state licensing program.

Capstone,

which opened in temporary locations in 2022 and moved to a new, sprawling campus at 6597 43rd St. S. in 2025,

teaches pre-k through Grade 12 students.

Bringing the lawsuit along with Capstone are Kaylie Young, a teacher at the school, and Paul Nelson, a parent of a student.

Named as defendants are state Superintendent of Public Instruction Levi Bachmeier, various members of the North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board, and Rebecca Pitkin, executive director of that independent board responsible for teacher licensure and other professional practices.

The state has 21 days to respond to the lawsuit, the Institute said.

Bachmeier told The Forum that since he’s named as a defendant, he cannot comment.

Pitkin submitted a statement, saying, “The Education Standards and Practices Board (ESPB) is mandated by North Dakota law to ensure that all classroom teachers are properly licensed. In recent years, ESPB has collaborated closely with Capstone’s administration and faculty to guarantee adherence to this legal requirement.”

Capstone and the Institute held a joint news conference via Zoom on Wednesday.

Headmaster Paul Fisher said they’re not suing as adversaries of the Department of Public Instruction or ESPB, but for freedom to deliver a distinct mission without the hindrance of state regulations.

Chris Flynn / The Forum

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“The state, by the Century Code, is forcing a square peg to fit into a round hole, and in doing so, they are violating parental choice and teachers’ professional freedom,” Fisher said.

In May of 2025, Capstone received a compliance letter from the state threatening to take away Capstone’s state approval unless the school complied with teacher licensing laws.

Michael Bindas, a senior Institute attorney, said Capstone had been working “creatively” with the state to find solutions, but with the compliance letter, it became clear the state was no longer willing to do so.

David Samson / The Forum

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Since then, the school said it has navigated paperwork, kept postings open for jobs already filled, reshaped courses to fit state-approved categories and paid “thousands and thousands of dollars” to come into compliance.

“That time, that money, that energy should be going toward educating children, not to comply with unnecessary and often irrational regulations,” Bindas said.

Capstone already has high standards for teachers in terms of content expertise and teaching competence, Fisher said, and the school vets their character and runs mandatory background checks.

Fisher said he must honor the mission of the school and the trust of parents “who pay their taxes to the public schools, and then, in addition to that, pay tuition to provide what they believe is the right education for their child.”

David Samson / The Forum

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Another Institute attorney, Riley Grace Borden, said the plaintiffs, Young and Nelson, chose Capstone because it is unique.

“It was a sacrifice for them to do that. Both … face longer commutes, Kaylie faces a lower salary. But they chose Capstone because it offers different courses, it has a different mission and focus,” Borden said.

She said the Institute approached a number of schools in North Dakota when considering bringing legal action related to teacher licensing.

“A bunch of them, every single one we talked to, in fact, was suffering,” she said.

In fact, Borden blamed the state’s “impractical and expensive” teacher licensing laws for an ongoing teacher shortage in the state.

Chris Flynn / The Forum

North Dakota legalized homeschooling in 1989, allowing parents without a teaching license or a college degree to teach their children.

Bindas said there’s no reason North Dakota can’t take the same “light touch” for private schools, and he’d go even further.

“At the end of the day, I don’t think licensure is necessary … government can and often does, and in this case has gone far beyond anything within its legitimate powers,” he said.

It’s unclear whether other private schools in Fargo or in the state will join in the lawsuit, Borden said, as some gave different reasons as to why they weren’t in a position to do so.