Worker training, voter education keys to smooth election

Election workers were primed for Election Day after nearly a year of training, working primary elections and guiding tens of thousands of North Dakotans through early voting. “The general public does not realize how many previous months and how many hours the staff puts into getting ready for Election Day,” said Linda Chadduck, a 47-year election worker veteran in Stutsman County. Chadduck worked Stutsman County’s elections for 37 years until retiring in 2016. Since then, she has worked as a precinct inspector. The state’s elections have been seamless because of the training provided to the county auditors by the Secretary of State’s Office, she said, who in turn pass that training onto county election officials and poll workers. “It’s an ongoing thing from the beginning of the year until after the state canvassing board in November,” she said. Chadduck, who was honored by the secretary of state as the 2026 Election Hero, has at times had to correct false information about the elect