Braunberger, Lamb Condemn Trump Executive Order Attacking ND Election System
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 1, 2026
FARGO and GRAND FORKS, ND – Sen. Ryan Braunberger (D-Fargo) Democratic-NPL candidate for North Dakota Secretary of State, and Tim Lamb, Democratic-NPL candidate for North Dakota Attorney General, today issued a joint statement condemning President Trump’s March 31 executive order which directs the federal government send a preapproved “citizenship list” based on faulty and incomplete information.
It directs the U.S. Postal Service to prohibit the delivery of mail-in ballots to any voter not enrolled on the pre-approved list, which is a mechanism that does not exist in North Dakota law. The order jeopardizes federal funds from states deemed noncompliant—a direct threat to North Dakota election funding. It also threatens criminal prosecution of state and local election workers. Each election, tens of thousands of North Dakota voters securely cast absentee and mail-in ballots, with over 90,000 voters (nearly 25% of all voters) voting by this method in the 2024 general election.
“North Dakota built the most straightforward election system in the country: no voter registration, a clean voter ID law, county auditors who know their voters, and multiple convenient ways to securely cast a ballot, including by mail,” said Braunberger, “Donald Trump’s executive order threatens to trample our voting rights this November by making it harder, if not impossible, to vote by mail–even though Trump himself voted by mail in recent weeks. Every North Dakotan who votes absentee, whether they’re farmers, people who travel for work, military families, or seniors in rural counties, is at risk of having their ballot blocked because some federal bureaucrat in Washington didn’t get a list in time. North Dakotans deserve a Secretary of State who will stand up against Trump’s hypocritical overreach. If elected this November, I will be an outspoken advocate for our voters, including those who securely cast their ballots by mail.”
Lamb remarked, “The issue is the bad idea of “federalizing” the election process. In North Dakota, our voting process is well oiled and proven flawless, from the county auditors to the election-day volunteers and voting sites, to the post-election canvasing boards, to the secretary of state, who oversees the process. There’s no problem with our election process from our past election results. Trump’s executive order is attempting to mess up our election system and it should be challenged in federal court as unconstitutional. Like his tariff executive order, which hurt our farmers and ranchers, this order is not in our best interest and will stifle our election process.”
CONTACT:
Laura Dronen
Communications Director
laura.dronen@demnpl.com
