Where do I vote if I recently moved?

Q. I moved to a different legislative district within 30 days of the general election. Where do I vote: my new district or old district? What do I need to prove I live there?

A. North Dakota is the only state in the union that doesn't require its residents to register before elections, but it does require that you live in the state to be an eligible voter.

A voter must live in North Dakota for 30 days before they are considered a resident, meaning that person must live in the state for 30 days prior to the election before they can vote.

Election officials follow the same guidelines when it comes to moving to a different legislative district, North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger said.

"That would be preferable because the state law says that you are supposed to have lived in your precinct for at least 30 days prior to the election," Jaeger said. "They will still be qualified to vote in their previous location."

Voters also must prove they are 18 years old on Election Day. This can be done by showing the required identification in the form of a driver's license, nondriver identification card, tribal government-issued identification, long-term care certificate or a voter's affidavit.

A 2013 change by the state Legislature eliminated the affidavit option, which voters could use to swear they were qualified to vote in a certain precinct. A U.S. District judge ordered the state to reinstate the affidavit as a "fail-safe" mechanism for those who did not have a listed form of identification required by law.

An affidavit requires the voter's name, date of birth and residential address.

"The voter is essentially swearing to it that the information is true when they sign the affidavit," Jaeger said.

Those who lie with an affidavit for voting are guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and could be sentenced to up to a year in prison and a fine of $3,000.

For more information on voting in North Dakota, go to vip.sos.nd.gov.

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