North Dakota State Auditor

North Dakota State Auditor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$112,238
2023-25 FY Budget:	$16,377,824
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	North Dakota Constitution, Article V, Section 2
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
North Dakota State Auditor Josh Gallion Republican Party Assumed office: December 15, 2016
Elections
Next election:	November 7, 2028
Last election:	November 5, 2024
Other North Dakota Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission • Tax Commissioner

The North Dakota State Auditor is an elected state executive position in the North Dakota state government. The auditor conducts professional and independent evaluations and audits of state and local financial records and performance reports. The auditor also conducts special investigations and checks for alleged fraud in state government.

The auditor serves a four-year term and is popularly elected during presidential election years.

Current officeholder

The current officeholder is Josh Gallion (R). He was first elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. Gallion succeeded Robert Peterson (R) in the position.

Authority

The auditor's authority is derived from Article V, Section 2 of the North Dakota Constitution.

Article V, Section 2:

The qualified electors of the state at the times and places of choosing members of the legislative assembly shall choose a governor, lieutenant governor, agriculture commissioner, attorney general, auditor, insurance commissioner, three public service commissioners, secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction, tax commissioner, and treasurer. ...

Qualifications

Article V, Section 4 of the North Dakota Constitution establishes the qualifications of the office:

To be eligible to hold an elective office established by this article, a person must be a qualified elector of this state, must be at least twenty-five years of age on the day of the election, and must have been a resident of this state for the five years preceding election to office. ...

• Qualified North Dakota voter
• At least 25 years old
• A resident of North Dakota for at least five years preceding the election

Vacancies

Article V, Section 8 addresses vacancies in state executive offices. In the event of a vacancy, the governor appoints a successor. Once appointed, the individual serves the remainder of the unexpired term. If a vacancy occurs within 95 days before a regularly-scheduled election for the position, the office must remain vacant.

Duties

The auditor conducts professional and independent evaluations and audits of state and local financial records and performance reports. The auditor also conducts special investigations and checks for alleged fraud in state government. Additional duties include, but are not limited to:

• Performing audits of the annual financial report and state agencies at least once every two years or by order of the governor or legislative audit committee;
• Performing audits of counties, cities, water resource districts, and additional political subdivisions at least once every two years or by order of the governor or legislative audit committee; and,
• Reporting the results of audits and evaluations to the governor and secretary of state.

Elections

North Dakota state government organizational chart

The auditor in North Dakota is popularly elected every four years in presidential election years. The term of office is four years.

2024

See also: North Dakota Auditor election, 2024

General election candidates

• Josh Gallion  (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔
• Timothy Lamb  (Democratic Party)

 Democratic primary candidates

• Timothy Lamb ✔

 Republican primary candidates

• Josh Gallion (Incumbent) ✔

2020

See also: North Dakota Auditor election, 2020

General election candidates

• Josh Gallion  (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔
• Patrick Hart  (Democratic Party) 

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
 Democratic primary candidates

• Patrick Hart ✔ 

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
 Republican primary candidates

• Josh Gallion (Incumbent) ✔

2016

See also: North Dakota Auditor election, 2016

The general election for state auditor was held on November 8, 2016.

Josh Gallion defeated Roland Riemers in the North Dakota auditor election.

North Dakota Auditor, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Josh Gallion	76.62%	236,751
	Libertarian	Roland Riemers	22.92%	70,818
		Write-in votes	0.46%	1,423
Total Votes				308,992
Source: North Dakota Secretary of State

Full history

To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of North Dakota State Auditor, click [show] to expand the section.

2012 See also: North Dakota down ballot state executive elections, 2012 Incumbent Robert Peterson (R) won re-election in 2012. He defeated Scot Kelsh (D) in the November 6, 2012 general election. North Dakota State Auditor General Election, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Robert Peterson Incumbent 62.6% 188,859      Democratic Scot Kelsh 37.4% 112,803 Total Votes 301,662 Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State 2008 On November 4, 2008, Robert Peterson won re-election to the office of North Dakota State Auditor. He defeated Daryl Splichal (D-NPL) in the general election. North Dakota State Auditor, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Robert Peterson Incumbent 60.7% 179,897      Democratic Daryl Splichal 39.3% 116,269 Total Votes 296,166 Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State. 2004 On November 2, 2004, Robert Peterson won re-election to the office of North Dakota State Auditor. He defeated Brent Edison (D-NPL) in the general election. North Dakota State Auditor, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Robert Peterson Incumbent 64.3% 189,145      Democratic Brent Edison 35.7% 104,857 Total Votes 294,002 Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State. 2000 On November 7, 2000, Robert Peterson won re-election to the office of North Dakota State Auditor. He defeated Mary Ekstrom in the general election. North Dakota State Auditor, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Robert Peterson Incumbent 60.6% 165,026      Democratic Mary Ekstrom 39.4% 107,505 Total Votes 272,531 Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State.

Divisions

The office of the auditor consists of the following divisions:

• Agency: conducts financial, compliance, performance, and information system audits of the state government and university system.
• Local Government: conducts audits of counties, cities, and other political subdivisions in addition to providing non-auditing services such as reviewing annual financial statements.
• North Dakota University System Performance: reviews the adequacy of select activities at public colleges and universities;
• Mineral Royalty: conducts compliance review and audits of federal royalty payments for natural resource leases in the state.
• Operations: oversees the department's information technology, accountants, communications, and others.

State budget

See also: North Dakota state budget and finances

The budget for the auditor's office for the 2023-25 biennium was $16,377,824.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

The auditor is legally entitled to an annual salary in accordance with Title 54 of the North Dakota Century Code.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $112,238, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the auditor received a salary of $110,582, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the auditor received a salary of $107,885, according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the auditor received a salary of $105,770, according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the auditor received a salary of $105,770, according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the auditor received a salary of $105,770, according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the auditor received a salary of $102,688, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the auditor received a salary of $99,698, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the auditor received a salary of $96,794, according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the auditor received a salary of $93,071, according to the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the North Dakota State Auditor has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms North Dakota State Auditor. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

North Dakota State Auditor - Google News

Contact information

Office of the State Auditor
600 East Boulevard, Dept. 117
Bismarck, ND 58505

Phone: 701-328-2241
Email: Contact form

External links

Suggest a link

• North Dakota Office of the State Auditor