Secretary of State outlines technology upgrades, requests shift of election staff to general fund in House Bill 1,002

Michael Howe, North Dakota Secretary of State, told the Senate Government Operations Division that House Bill 1,002 would fund continued election administration and a set of technology upgrades ahead of the 2026 elections.

“How office is the starting point we like to say for democracy and transparency,” Howe said as he described the office’s role in elections, business filings and official records. He outlined the bill’s personnel and technology provisions and answered senators’ questions about specific line items.

The bill would reduce the office’s funded FTE count from 35 to 33 in the House version, then move to fund the remaining 33 FTEs with the state general fund rather than federal grants or special funds. Howe said the office sought the change because federal grants that support election staff carry restrictions that can limit those employees’ duties (for example, some federally funded positions cannot work on petition reviews or state-only campaign…