Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

1033.01000
     Sixty-eighth
     Legislative Assembly                       SENATE BILL NO. 2308
     of North Dakota
     Introduced by
       Senator Magrum
       Representative Hoverson
  A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact subdivision c of subsection 4 of section 16.1-01-04.1,
  section 16.1-07-06, subdivision g of subsection 2 of section 16.1-07-15, and section 16.1-15-04
  of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to mail ballot elections; and to repeal chapter
  16.1-11.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to mail ballot elections.
  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
      SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Subdivision c of subsection 4 of section 16.1-01-04.1 of the
  North Dakota Century Code is amended and reenacted as follows:
           c.     For an individual living with a disability that prevents the individual from traveling
                  away from the individual's home, the signature on an absentee or mail ballot
                 application from another qualified elector who, by signing, certifies the applicant
                 is a qualified elector.
     SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-07-06 of the North Dakota Century Code is
 amended and reenacted as follows:
     16.1-07-06. Application form.
     1.   Application for an absent voter's or mail ballot must be made on a form, prescribed by
          the secretary of state, to be furnished by the proper officer of the county, city, or school
          district in which the applicant is an elector, or any form, approved by the secretary of
          state, containing the following:
          a.     The applicant's name.
          b.     The applicant's current or most recent North Dakota residential address.
          c.     The applicant's mailing address.
          d.     The applicant's current contact telephone number, if available.
          e.     The election for which the ballot is being requested.
           f.    The date of the request.
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           g.   An affirmation that the applicant has resided, or will reside, in the precinct for at
                least thirty days next preceding the election and will be a qualified elector of the
                precinct.
           h.   The applicant's signature, a notification the signature on this affidavit will be
                compared to the signature on the affidavit on the envelope in which the absentee
                ballot must be placed.
           i.   The designation of the individual's status as a citizen of this country and resident
                of this state living outside the United States, a uniformed service member living
                away from the individual's North Dakota residence, or an immediate family
               member of the uniformed service member living away from the individual's North
               Dakota residence.
          j.   The applicant's date of birth.
          k.   The identification number from one of the applicant's valid forms of identification,
               a copy of the applicant's long-term care certificate, and, if necessary, a copy of
               the applicant's supplemental identification under section 16.1-01-04.1.
     2.   If the applicant is unable to sign the applicant's name to the application, the applicant
          shall mark (X) or use the applicant's signature stamp on the application in the
          presence of a disinterested individual. The disinterested individual shall print the name
          of the individual marking the X or using the signature stamp below the X or signature
          stamp and shall sign the disinterested individual's own name following the printed
          name together with the notation "witness to the mark".
     3.   If the applicant does not possess or cannot secure an approved form of identification
          as provided for under section 16.1-01-04.1 due to a disability with which the individual
          lives and which prevents the individual from traveling to obtain, the application also
          must be signed by another qualified elector who, by signing, certifies that the applicant
          is a qualified elector. The secretary of state shall prescribe the form of the certification
          required under this subsection. An individual may not certify the qualifications of more
          than four applicants in an election.
     4.   The application must include the following additional information if the individual
          desires to access the ballot by electronic means:
          a.   Facsimile telephone number; or
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            b.   Electronic mail address.
      5.    An incomplete application must be returned to the applicant for completion and
            resubmission.
      6.    Except for the applicant's date of birth, identification card number, and any
            supplemental documentation provided under section 16.1-01-04.1, the application is
            an open record under section 44-04-18.
      SECTION 3. AMENDMENT. Subdivision g of subsection 2 of section 16.1-07-15 of the
  North Dakota Century Code is amended and reenacted as follows:
            g.   The early voting precinct election board shall comply with the requirements of
                chapters 16.1-05, 16.1-06, 16.1-11, 16.1-11.1, 16.1-13, and 16.1-15, as
                applicable.
     SECTION 4. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-15-04 of the North Dakota Century Code is
 amended and reenacted as follows:
     16.1-15-04. Canvass report prepared by election board for county auditor.
     The election board shall generate at least one canvass report from the electronic voting
 system. The ballots may not be sealed, nor may the canvass report be signed, by the election
 board or poll clerk until the counts in the poll clerks' books and in the canvass report shows the
 same totals for ballots cast.
     In the case of the absentee ballot precinct as authorized in section 16.1-07-12.1, and early
 voting precincts as authorized in section 16.1-07-15, and mail ballot precinct as authorized in
 section 16.1-11.1-06, if the work of the election board is completed prior to close of the polls on
 election day, the election board shall create and sign a statement consisting of a reconciliation
 of the number of voters recorded in the pollbook and the number of ballots processed through
 the tabulators. The voting system must be secured in a manner prescribed by the county auditor
 that will protect the system and ballots from tampering. Prior to generating the canvass report
 from one of these three types of precincts, an election judge representing each political party, or
 two election judges in the case of an election that does not include a political party contest, shall
 verify that the system and ballots remain secure and the statement created by the election
 board is still accurate.
     SECTION 5. REPEAL. Chapter 16.1-11.1 of the North Dakota Century Code is repealed.
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Statutes affected: 
INTRODUCED: 16.1-01-04.1, 16.1-07-06, 16.1-07-15, 16.1-15-04