The North Dakota Department of Transportation is working with two American Indian tribes this week to provide free photo identification cards that can be used for voting in this year’s elections.
The department has scheduled events on the Spirit Lake and Fort Berthold reservations for people age 18 and older who do not have a driver’s license or a tribal ID card.
“Our goal is to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to vote in the upcoming elections,” state Driver License Division Director Brad Schaffer said.
A federal judge in April 2020 approved an agreement between North Dakota and tribes settling a legal dispute over the state’s voter ID requirements that at one point reached the U.S. Supreme Court. The deal includes provisions that aim to ensure Native American voters have valid IDs and can meet the state requirement of a provable street address.
The agreement ensures that tribally designated street addresses are accepted as valid, and it calls for the state to work with tribes to distribute free nondriver ID cards on all reservations within 30 days of statewide elections.
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DOT also will be holding an event on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, but it’s not yet scheduled, according to agency spokesman David Finley.
The Spirit Lake event is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday in Fort Totten, in The Blue Building at 816 Third Ave. N.
The Fort Berthold event is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday in New Town, in the Northern Lights Wellness Center at 710 E. Ave.
DOT staff will obtain photos and documents at the tribal locations. The paperwork will be processed overnight, and photo ID cards will be mailed to residents within five days. The card is an official ID, but it is not a driver’s license.
People seeking an ID must provide a certified birth certificate and a court-issued name change if applicable, such as a certified marriage certificate, a divorce decree or adoption order; a Social Security card, and proof of a North Dakota-resident physical address.
Questions can be directed to DOT at 1-855-633-6835. More information on voting requirements is at vote.nd.gov.
North Dakota’s primary election this year is June 14; voters will select nominees for state and county offices. City and school elections will be decided then, as well. Nov. 8 is the general election, in which county, legislative, judicial, statewide and congressional races are decided.
Absentee ballots for the June election will be available to all North Dakota voters beginning May 5. Absentee ballots for the general election will be available beginning Sept. 29.
Reach News Editor Blake Nicholson at 701-250-8266 or blake.nicholson@bismarcktribune.com.