Fort Yates is a Democratic stronghold. About 83% of voters here vote Democratic and 17% Republican.
About 57% of adults in Fort Yates typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Fort Yates, ~47% vote Democratic, ~10% Republican, and ~43% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Fort Yates compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Fort Yates is the most Democratic-leaning.
Fort Yates runs about 103 points more Democratic than North Dakota as a whole. North Dakota leans Republican overall, while Fort Yates is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Fort Yates. The south side runs the most Democratic (D+72) and the east side runs the most Republican (R+71), a spread of about 143 points.
Why Fort Yates leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Fort Yates, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Fort Yates votes against the grain of North Dakota. North Dakota leans Republican overall, while Fort Yates runs about 103 points more Democratic. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 59% of adults in Fort Yates have never been married, in the top fraction of cities.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with low colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Fort Yates, ND sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Fort Yates looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Fort Yates is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 38%, about 26 points below the North Dakota average of 64%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 60% of households in Fort Yates rent, compared to around 35% in nearby cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 48% of adults in Fort Yates report food insecurity, in the top fraction of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Selfridge, ND D+32
- Cannon Ball, ND D+40
- Maple Leaf, SD D+52
- McLaughlin, SD D+50
- Westfield, ND R+71
- Liberty, SD D+48
- Linton, ND R+64
- Strasburg, ND R+73
- Pollock, SD R+65
Cities with Similar Populations
- Capon Bridge, WV R+59
- Loyal, WI R+50
- Wade, NC R+37
- Ruch, OR R+16
- Walton, IN R+56
- Barnum, MN R+24
- Harper, TX R+73
- Carrsville, VA R+42
- Beech Creek, PA R+58
- Coffeeville, MS R+3
All Local Stats
Home Services
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from North Dakota Secretary of State, Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.