BISMARCK – As the June 9 Primary Election approaches, North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe reminds citizens who are voting absentee to fill out and return their ballot as soon as possible. Absentee ballots must be received by the county auditor by the close of polls on election day to be counted.

A ballot may be returned by mail through the United States Postal Service, by placing it in the secure county drop box or by hand delivering it to the county auditor. Absentee ballots cannot be returned to a polling location.

Voters can track their absentee ballots at vote.nd.gov/absenteetracker to see when the county auditor receives it. If the ballot is not received by the county auditor by Election Day, the voter can cast a ballot at a polling location. The voter’s absentee ballot will not be counted when it arrives.

As of Friday, May 29, at 8 a.m., 17,706 absentee ballots had been received out of 35,710 that were requested, or 49.58%.