Title 16.1, Elections

The county auditor shall publish, once each week for two consecutive weeks before the primary election, in the official county newspaper, and if no newspaper is published in the county then in a newspaper published in an adjoining county in the state, a notice accompanied by a st…

At the primary election there may be only one ballot containing the separate sections for all parties or principles. The judges and the inspector of elections shall inform each elector at the primary, before voting, if the voter votes for candidates of more than one political par…

There must be a separate ballot at all primary elections which must be entitled "no-party primary ballot". The names of aspirants for nomination to each office must be arranged on the no-party primary ballot in separate groups in their order. The separate ballot may be on the sam…

The no-party ballot must be prepared, printed, distributed, canvassed, and returned in the same manner provided for other primary election ballots.

The primary election ballot for party nominations shall contain the following offices in the following order under each party column: 1. Congressional: United States senator representative in Congress 2. Legislative: state senator __________ district state representative ________…

Sample ballots used for publication purposes must be arranged using the rotation of the ballot in the precinct and ordered according to the precincts with the greatest eligible voter population to the least. On the official ballot used at the election, including electronic voting…

Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, the primary election ballot must be prepared as provided in chapter 16.1-06.

Any party that had printed on the ballot at the last preceding presidential election the names of a set of presidential electors pledged to the election of the party's candidates for president and vice president or a candidate for governor and those candidates for presidential el…

Vote tabulation machines must print reports detailing the election results from the precinct after the close of the polls.

The clerks of primary elections shall keep either one paper or one electronic list of the names of all individuals voting at each primary election. The clerks must return the list, which must be a part of the records and filed with other election returns. Only one complete list o…

The judges of a primary election in each polling place shall run a separate report for each political party or principle requesting the report, containing the names of all individuals voted for at the primary election, the number of votes cast for each candidate, and for what off…

This title does not prevent any elector from writing on the paper ballot or entering by touchscreen or other data entry device, the name of any individual for whom the elector desires to vote, and the vote must be counted according to the provisions for the counting of write-in v…

An individual may not be deemed nominated as a candidate for any office at any primary election unless that individual receives a number of votes at least equal to the number of signatures required on a petition to have a candidate's name for that office placed on the primary bal…

The number of individuals to be nominated as candidates for any one no-party office is the number of individuals who receive the highest number of votes and who total twice the number of available positions for the office if that many individuals are candidates for nomination. Ho…

In case of a tie vote the nominee or nominees must be determined by a drawing of names in the presence of the candidates upon at least five days' notice to each candidate, by the canvassing board or boards concerned, at a time and place designated by the board. A candidate involv…

1. All individuals nominated in accordance with this chapter are eligible as candidates to be voted for at the ensuing general election, except as provided in this section. 2. Upon receipt of the documents filed by each candidate, the filing officer immediately shall complete a t…

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the primary election ballot must be arranged, and the primary election must be provided for, conducted, and the expenses thereof paid as in the case of a general election.

A certificate of nomination must be: 1. The certificate of nomination required to be executed by the state or a county canvassing board pursuant to sections 16.1-15-40 and 16.1-15-21, respectively, for party nominations; 2. The certificate of nomination by petition for independen…

Certificates of nomination for nominees for an office to be filled at a general or special election, except for an office appearing on the no-party ballot, may be made as provided by this section. Except for nominees for president of the United States, names of nominees so nomina…

Upon receipt by the secretary of state of the certificate of nomination provided for in section 16.1-12-02 accompanied by the following affidavit, the secretary of state shall place the applicant's name upon the general election ballot. The affidavit may be filed electronically, …

1. An individual who intends to be a write-in candidate for president of the United States or for statewide or judicial district office at any election shall file a certificate of write-in candidacy with the secretary of state by four p.m. on the twenty-first day before the elect…

A petition provided for in this chapter may not be circulated or signed more than one hundred fifty days before the date when any petition must be filed under this chapter. Any signatures to a petition obtained more than one hundred fifty days before that date may not be counted.…

No certificate of nomination provided for by this chapter, except in the case of presidential electors, may contain the name of more than one nominee for each office to be filled. An individual elected or appointed to an office appearing on the no-party ballot or seeking nominati…

1. Certificates of nomination for nominees for offices to be filled by the qualified electors of the entire state must be filed with the secretary of state. Not less than fifty-five days before any general or special election to fill any statewide office, the secretary of state s…

When one individual has been nominated for the same office by more than one body of electors qualified to make nominations for public office, the nominee shall file with the secretary of state on or before the last day fixed by law for filing certificates of nomination for the of…

Any individual intending to decline a nomination shall do so by filing written notice of that intention with the officer with whom the certificate nominating the individual is filed. If the written notice is filed with the appropriate officer within forty-eight hours after four p…

1. Whenever a vacancy exists on a no-party ballot for a state office or for judge of a district court, the vacancy may be filled by filing with the secretary of state, before four p.m. on the sixty-fourth day, a written petition as provided in section 16.1-11-06, stating that the…

1. If a vacancy occurs in a slate of statewide candidates after the candidates have been nominated at the primary election, the state executive committee of the party that submitted the slate of statewide candidates may fill the vacancy by filing a certificate of nomination with …

The general election must be held in all the election districts of this state on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year.

All elective state, district, and county officers, and the United States senators, and the members of the United States house of representatives, must be elected at the general election next preceding the expiration of the term of each such officer. In a year when a president and…

The names of all candidates of each political party or principle or no-party designation, who are shown to have been nominated for the several offices in accordance with the certificates of nomination filed in the secretary of state's office, must be placed by the secretary of st…

1. Notice of all general elections must be published by the county auditor in the official county newspaper at the same time as, and as a part of, the publication of the sample ballot preceding the election. The notice must be substantially as follows: Notice is given that on Tue…

Except to fill a vacancy occurring on the ballot, an individual who was a candidate for nomination by any party or a candidate for a no-party office at any primary election in any year and who was defeated for the nomination may not have that individual's name printed upon the of…

The no-party ballot must be prepared, printed, distributed, canvassed, and returned in the same manner provided for other general election ballots.

When a vacancy occurs in the office of United States senator from this state, the governor shall call a special election to be held within ninety-five days to fill the vacancy. If the vacancy occurs within ninety-five days of the expiration of the term of office for that office, …

If a vacancy occurs in the office of representative in Congress due to a catastrophic circumstance in which one hundred or more representatives across the United States are no longer able to serve and the next regular or special election is more than seventy-five days in the futu…

If a candidate for an office of a member of the legislative assembly who has died or become disqualified for the office receives enough votes to be elected except for the death or disqualification, a vacancy in the office is deemed to exist, and must be filled according to sectio…

Any individual who receives a certificate of election as a member of the legislative assembly may resign the office even if the individual has not entered upon the execution of the duties of the office or taken the requisite oath of office.

A notice of a special election and the copy of the sample ballot must be issued and published in substantially the form and manner prescribed by section 16.1-13-05.

Votes cast at special elections must be canvassed and returned as provided for primary and general elections, and the county auditor within eight days shall forward to the secretary of state the abstracts of the same.

If a special election is called to fill a vacancy in any office for which a party nomination may be made, the proper party committee shall call a convention to make a party nomination for the office, and the district must be duly convened and shall elect the required number of de…

Public notice of such a nominating convention must be given at least six days before the holding of the convention by publication in the official newspaper in the county or counties in which the election will be held. Such nomination must be made by delivering to and leaving with…

The basis of representation of delegates to a convention, unless otherwise provided by law, must be fixed and determined by the authorized district or state committee of each political party entitled by law to make nominations for office by delegate convention.

All nominations made by a convention as provided in this chapter must be certified. The certificate must be delivered by the secretary or president of the convention by registered or certified mail or in person, without charge, to the secretary of state. The certificates of nomin…

If two or more organizations claiming or purporting to represent the same political party file certificates of nomination under the same party designation, or if the certificates indicate the nominations were made by any individual or organization representing the same political …

An election may not be held in a room in which alcoholic beverages are being sold while the polls are open or while election board members are completing assigned work.