Defenders of traditional voting have lost a round in the North Dakota House, where representatives endorsed allowing counties to set up "voting centers" that would allow residents to skip their neighborhood precincts.

Should Ward County establish a center in Minot, residents of Kenmare who work in Minot during the day could use it to vote instead of driving back to their regular polling place to do so, said Rep. Glen Froseth, R-Kenmare.

People who visit voting centers on Election Day would get ballots printed for their home precinct, he said.

"This would give voters another option," Froseth said. "Voting centers would alleviate voter confusion over where they need to vote."

Other lawmakers were wary of the idea. "I can see where in retail, we go to super centers," said Rep. Blair Thoreson, R-Fargo. "But I'm not sure we need super centers for voting."

Representatives voted 48-42 on Tuesday to approve the voting center measure. It now goes to the state Senate for additional review.

North Dakota's lack of voter registration creates doubt about whether voting centers would be workable, said Rep. Wes Belter, R-Leonard.

"I think it's important that, as a state, we rely on having our local precincts as local as we can keep them," Belter said.