Any city that has operated for more than six years under or since changing from the city commission system of government may change its governmental organization and adopt the city council form of government or the modern council form of government or revert to the city commission form of government. The proceeding to change or revert shall be initiated either by a resolution by the governing body or by a petition asking for such change signed by not less than twenty-five percent of the qualified electors of the city. In no event, however, shall the petition contain less than thirty signatures. In any city having six or more municipal election precincts, not more than twenty percent of the petitioners may reside in any single precinct. For purposes of this section, the term "qualified electors of the city" means the total number of qualified electors voting for the office of the chief executive officer of the city at the preceding city election. The signatures to such petition need not be appended to a single paper, but one of the signers upon each paper shall make oath before an officer competent to administer oaths that each signature appearing upon such paper is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be and that such person purports to be not less than eighteen years of age and a resident of the city. Each petition, in addition to the names of the signers, shall contain the name of the street upon and the number of the house in which each petitioner resides. Any petitioner shall be permitted to withdraw that petitioner's name from a petition within five days after the petition is filed. If the proceeding to change from or revert to a commission system of government is initiated by petition, the question may not be placed on the ballot more often than every four years.
40-04-09. City auditor to pass on sufficiency of petition to change from commission system of government. Within thirty days after a petition to change from the commission system of government is filed, the city auditor shall examine the petition and ascertain whether or not the petition is signed by the required number of qualified electors. The city auditor shall attach to the petition the city auditor's certificate showing the result of the city auditor's examination, and if the city auditor finds the petition to be insufficient the city auditor's certificate shall show the reason for such determination. An insufficient petition may be amended within ten days after the city auditor's certificate is made. Within thirty days after an amended petition is filed, the city auditor shall make an examination thereof, and if the city auditor's certificate shows such amended petition to be insufficient, it shall be returned to the person filing the same without prejudice to the filing of a new petition. If the city auditor shall find the petition or the amended petition to be sufficient, the city auditor shall place the same, with the city auditor's certificate, before the governing body of the municipality.
40-04-10. Procedure upon filing of petition to change from or revert to commission system of government - Election - Ballot. When a petition to change from or revert to the commission system of government, with the city auditor's certificate of sufficiency, is filed with the governing body of a city, or when a resolution to change or revert has been adopted, the governing body shall call a special election at which only the question of changing from or reverting to the commission system of government will be submitted. The date of such election shall not be less than sixty days nor more than ninety days after the date of the auditor's certificate that a sufficient petition has been filed. The ballot to be used at the election shall include the issue presented in the petition or resolution in substantially one of the following forms: CHANGE FROM COMMISSION SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT Shall the city of _______________ change from its organization under the commission system of government and become a city under the council form of government? Yes ☐ No ☐
Shall the city of _______________ change from its organization under the commission system of government and become a city under the modern council form of government with a five-man council? Yes ☐ No ☐ Shall the city of _______________ change from its organization under the commission system of government and become a city under the modern council form of government with a seven-man council? Yes ☐ No ☐ Shall the city of _______________ change from its organization under the commission system of government and become a city under the modern council form of government with an eleven-man council? Yes ☐ No ☐ REVERSION TO COMMISSION SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT Shall the city of _______________ revert from the council form of government to the commission system of government? Yes ☐ No ☐ Shall the city of _______________ revert from the modern council form of government with a five-man council to the commission system of government? Yes ☐ No ☐ Shall the city of _______________ revert from the modern council form of government with a seven-man council to the commission system of government? Yes ☐ No ☐ Shall the city of _______________ revert from the modern council form of government with an eleven-man council to the commission system of government? Yes ☐ No ☐
40-04-11. Procedure when election favors changing from commission system of government. If a majority of the votes cast on the question at the election provided for in section 40-04-10 favor the proposition submitted at such election, the officers elected at the next biennial election shall be those prescribed by the provisions of this title relating to cities organized under the city council form of government. Upon the qualification of such officers, the city shall become a city under the council form of government.