Title 16.1, Elections

As used in this title, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Candidate" means: a. An individual holding public office; b. An individual who publicly has declared that individual's candidacy for nomination for election or election to public office or has filed or accepted a n…

1. The secretary of state is, ex officio, supervisor of elections and may employ additional personnel to administer this title. The secretary of state shall supervise the conduct of elections and in that supervisory capacity has, in addition to other powers conferred by law, the …

The provisions of this title govern all primary, general, and special statewide and legislative elections, and all other elections, unless otherwise provided by law.

It is the policy of this state to encourage voting by all eligible voters at all statewide special, primary, or general elections. To this end, employers are encouraged to establish a program to grant an employee who is a qualified voter to be absent from the employee's employmen…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the governor may call a special election to be held in ninety days after the call if a special session of the legislative assembly has been held, any of the ninety-day period for the submission of a referendum petition to the secretary …

The state shall reimburse each county for the costs incurred by the county for conducting a statewide special election that is not held on the date of a statewide primary or general election. Each county shall submit a detailed statement to the office of the budget which lists al…

The polls at all primary, general, and special elections must be opened at nine a.m. or earlier, but not earlier than seven a.m., as designated for any precinct by resolution of the governing body of the city or county in which the precinct is located. The polls must remain open …

1. To qualify as an elector of this state, an individual must be: a. A citizen of the United States; b. Eighteen years or older; and c. A resident of this state who has resided in the precinct at least thirty days immediately preceding any election. 2. Pursuant to section 2 of ar…

1. A qualified elector shall provide a valid form of identification to the proper election official before receiving a ballot for voting. 2. The identification must provide the following information regarding the elector: a. Legal name; b. Current residential street address in No…

For purposes of voting: 1. Every qualified elector may have only one residence, shown by an actual fixed permanent dwelling, establishment, or any other abode to which the individual returns when not called elsewhere for labor or other special or temporary purposes. 2. The street…

If a qualified elector moves from one precinct to another precinct within this state, the elector is entitled to vote in the precinct from which the elector moved until the elector has established a new residence pursuant to section 16.1-01-04.

Through the use of the central voter file provided for in chapter 16.1-02, the secretary of state shall establish a procedure by which a county auditor may transfer an individual's name from the voter list of one precinct to the voter list of another precinct in the state if the …

Unless otherwise expressly provided by the laws of this state, in all elections for the choice of any officer, the individual receiving the highest number of votes for any office is deemed elected to that office.

1. For purposes of this section: a. "Approval voting" means a method in which a qualified elector may vote for all candidates the voter approves of in each race for public office, and the candidates receiving the most votes are elected until all necessary seats are filled in each…

If a proposed constitutional amendment or other question is to be submitted to the people of the state for popular vote, the secretary of state shall certify the amendment or other question to each county auditor not less than fifty-five days before the election, and each auditor…

1. The secretary of state shall investigate thoroughly, when the matter comes to the secretary of state's attention, any of the following: a. Any error or omission that has occurred or is about to occur in placing any name on an official election ballot; however, a factual disput…

1. a. A request of the secretary of state for approval of a petition to initiate or refer a measure may be presented over the signatures of the sponsoring committee on individual signature forms that have been notarized. The secretary of state shall prepare a signature form that …

1. A request of the secretary of state for approval of a petition to recall an elected official or appointed official of a vacated elected office may be presented over the signatures of the sponsoring committee on individual signature forms that have been notarized. The secretary…

1. The secretary of state shall have a reasonable period, not to exceed thirty-five days, in which to pass upon the sufficiency of any petition mentioned in section 16.1-01-09. The secretary of state shall conduct a representative random sampling of the signatures contained in th…

1. Whenever at any election a bond issue or mill levy question has failed to receive the required number of votes for approval by the electors, the matter may not again be submitted to a vote until a period of at least three months has expired. 2. a. More than two elections on th…

1. It is unlawful for an individual, measure committee as described in section 16.1-08.1-01, or other organization to: a. Fraudulently alter another individual's ballot, substitute one ballot for another, or otherwise defraud a voter of that voter's vote. b. Cause a disturbance, …

A person is permanently ineligible to have that person's name placed on the ballot at any election for the office of United States senator or representative in Congress if, by the start of the term for which the election is being held, that person will have served as a United Sta…

(Contingent effective date - See note) A person is ineligible to have that person's name placed on the ballot at any election for the office of United States senator or representative in Congress if, by the start of the term for which the election is being held, that person will …

In enacting this measure, the people of North Dakota: 1. Recognize that, along with the rest of the people of the United States, we have bestowed certain powers on the state and federal governments, and the governmental power flows ultimately from the people, not to them. 2. Do s…

The secretary of state shall establish and maintain a fund, known as the election fund, in the state treasury for the purpose of depositing payments and grants made to the state under the provisions of sections 101, 101(c), and 906, and title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2…

1. The state and political subdivisions may not solicit, accept, or use any grants or donations from private persons for elections operations or administration except: a. The use of privately owned facilities for polling places; b. Food for poll workers; and c. Other nonmonetary …

The secretary of state shall establish a uniform state-based administrative complaint procedure to remedy grievances according to section 402 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 [Pub. L. 107-252; 116 Stat. 1666; 42 U.S.C. 15512]. The complaint procedure must be uniform and nondi…

As soon as practicable after the secretary of state approves an initiated or referred measure for the ballot, the legislative council shall coordinate the determination of the estimated fiscal impact of the initiated or referred measure. Upon notification from the secretary of st…

1. For each statewide constitutional measure approved by the legislative assembly, initiated measure, or referendum appearing on the ballot of a special, primary, or general election, the secretary of state shall create and distribute objective and factual educational materials t…

A permanent, centralized electronic database of voters, to be known as the central voter file, is established with the offices of the secretary of state and county auditors linked together by a centralized statewide system. The county auditor is chief custodian of the central vot…

The offices required to perform the functions and duties of this chapter shall bear the costs incurred in performing those duties, and the secretary of state shall pay the costs of operating and maintaining the central voter file. As used in this section, costs of maintaining the…

1. Not later than the primary election in 2008, the secretary of state shall establish the central voter file in cooperation with the department of transportation and county auditors. 2. The secretary of state shall establish the initial central voter file from records maintained…

When the boundaries of a precinct are changed, the county auditor shall immediately update the voter records for that precinct in the central voter file to accurately reflect those changes. The county auditor shall provide to the secretary of state all materials requested for exi…

1. Before the meeting of the county canvassing board following an election, the county auditor shall enter the name and required information of each individual who voted at the last election who is not already contained in the central voter file and update any required informatio…

1. The department of health and human services shall provide for the regular reporting to the secretary of state the name, address, date of birth, and county of residence, if available, of each individual eighteen years of age or older who has died while maintaining residence in …

The state court administrator shall provide for the regular reporting to the secretary of state the name, address, date of birth, and county of residence, if available, of each individual eighteen years of age or older whose name was changed by divorce or any order or decree of t…

1. The director of the department of corrections and rehabilitation shall provide a report to the secretary of state, including the name, address, date of birth, date of sentence, effective date of the sentence, and county in which the conviction occurred, if available, of each i…

The department of transportation shall report regularly to the secretary of state any relevant changes and updates to records maintained by the department of transportation which may require changes and updates to be made to records of individuals contained in the central voter f…

Before the end of the contest period allowed under section 16.1-16-04, each county auditor shall post the voting history for each individual who voted in the election. After the close of each even-numbered calendar year, the secretary of state shall determine if any individual ha…

The secretary of state may adopt rules and procedures according to subsection 3 of section 16.1-01-01 to implement this chapter and to update and maintain the central voter file. The rules may: 1. Provide for the establishment and maintenance of a central voter file. 2. Provide f…

The central voter file must contain the following information for each individual included in the file: 1. The complete legal name of the individual. 2. The complete residential address of the individual. 3. The complete mailing address of the individual, if different from the in…

The county auditor shall generate a pollbook for each precinct in the county from the central voter file by the day before an election. With the exception of a record designated "secured active" and the voter's birth date and driver's license or nondriver identification card numb…

1. By February first of each year, the secretary of state shall transmit information from the central voter file to the state court administrator for the purpose of compiling the master list of jurors under chapter 27-09.1. 2. After each general election at which the president of…

Except as otherwise provided by law, a voter list or a report generated from the central voter file may be made available to a candidate, political party, or a political committee for election-related purposes. Any information obtained by a candidate, political party, or politica…

The secretary of state may generate a voter list or a report generated from the central voter file to be transmitted to other states, or a consortium of states, for maintaining the integrity of elections.

1. An individual may not intentionally: a. Remove an individual from the central voter file or change a record of an individual contained in the central voter file in a manner or for a purpose not authorized by law; or b. Add a name of an individual to the central voter file or a…

1. Each legislative district party shall organize in conformance with the state legislative district boundaries as established by the legislative assembly and as set forth under chapter 54-03. 2. On or before May fifteenth following the last preceding general election, a party ca…

1. Only those individuals who are qualified electors under section 16.1-01-04 may vote or be elected as officers at the party caucus. 2. In case the right of an individual to participate at the caucus is challenged, the question of the individual's right to participate must be de…

If a political party chooses to organize by precinct, the party in each voting precinct of this state is entitled to elect one precinct committeeman for each two hundred fifty votes, or majority of a fraction thereof, cast for the party's presidential electors, governor, attorney…

A vacancy in the office of precinct committeeman, which occurs after the organization of the district committee, may be filled by appointment, as authorized by the district party bylaws.