Whether the subject is voting residency or whether North Dakotans should show identification at the polls, incumbent Republican Secretary of State Al Jaeger and Democratic challenger Doug Melby offer stark differences.

"When you're talking about how people vote, and how their votes are counted, people understand the significance," Melby said. "There are important issues at stake."

The contest between Melby and Jaeger, who is running for his fourth term, has focused mostly on voting and election issues.

The secretary of state is North Dakota's top elections administrator, but the office has other duties, including keeping business records and lien filings, and licensing contractors, notary publics and fund-raisers. Jaeger also is one of five members of the Board of University and School Lands, which manages state land holdings and a trust fund that benefits schools.

Last year, Jaeger pushed measures in the GOP-controlled Legislature to require voters to show identification when they vote, and to authorize the establishment of a central voter database, which county auditors may use to update their poll books.

Jaeger says the ID requirement, which was first instituted during the June primary election, is not burdensome, especially when North Dakotans need to display identification to cash checks, board airplanes or do any number of mundane tasks.

Someone who does not have identification may still vote, if they sign an affidavit saying they are eligible and live within the voting precinct, Jaeger said.

"It's simply having people confirm who they are and where they live," he said. "That's all it is, nothing more."

Melby says a voter should not have to display identification unless he or she is not listed in a precinct's poll book, or if the person is unfamiliar to precinct workers.

He objects to plans for the voter database, saying it is akin to voter registration. North Dakota is the only state in the nation that does not have voter registration.

"We don't want any part of voter registration," Melby said. "That creates more problems than it solves."

Jaeger, a former Fargo real estate salesman, made an impromptu jump into statewide politics at the Republican state convention in 1992, when he decided to challenge the party's only declared candidate for secretary of state, John VonRueden.

Jaeger won the convention endorsement and went on to beat Jim Kusler, the incumbent Democratic secretary of state. During his campaign, Jaeger often lugged a huge ring binder to campaign appearances and meetings with reporters, stuffed with material about Kusler's office management.

His penchant for fussiness about details is ideally suited for the job of secretary of state, because he deals with elections, business records and other matters where precision is important, Jaeger says.