Who’s in Charge: Secretary of State Al Jaeger
The North Dakota election systems were targeted, but not breached, in the summer before the 2016 presidential election but the state wasn't notified until September 22, 2017. The office said security measures put in place to protect these systems proved effective and that it continues to update its cybersecurity protections as new potential means of targeting are identified.
The state was awarded $3 million from the Federal government where were matched at 5 percent leaving a total of $3,150,000 to be spent on election security. Despite the investment, The Center for American Progress noted that the state had an "Incomplete" rating for its minimum cybersecurity for voter registration systems and "Unsatisfactory" post-election audits and paper absentee ballots. The state
In October a Supreme Court ruling against overturning a controversial voter ID law which requires voters to present identification to verify a current residential street address took effect, meaning North Dakotans will be voting under a different set of rules than the primaries which took place a few months ago. Critics say this law will make it more difficult for the state’s Native American residents to vote in the mid-terms.
The law has left several tribes scrambling to meet the voter ID requirements as many Native American reservation homes don’t have streets or addresses making it difficult for them to obtain valid IDs.
