19.0989.01000
Sixty-sixth
Legislative Assembly SENATE BILL NO. 2307
of North Dakota
Introduced by
Senators Meyer, K. Roers
Representatives Beadle, Grueneich, C. Johnson, Sanford
1 A BILL for an Act to create and enact a new section to chapter 16.1-02 of the North Dakota
2 Century Code, relating to use of voter lists; and to amend and reenact section 16.1-01-03,
3 subsection 2 of section 16.1-01-09, subsection 2 of section 16.1-01-09.1, and sections
4 16.1-02-12 and 16.1-16-01 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to hours of polling
5 places, requirements for petition signatures, information in the central voter file, and election
6 recounts.
7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
8 SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-01-03 of the North Dakota Century Code is
9 amended and reenacted as follows:
10 16.1-01-03. Opening and closing of the polls.
11 The polls at all primary, general, and special elections must be opened at nine a.m. or at
12 such earlier hour, but not earlier than seven a.m., that may beas designated for any precinct by
13 resolution of the governing body of the city or county in which suchthe precinct is located except
14 that in precincts in which seventy-five or fewer votes were cast in the last general election, the
15 governing body may direct that the polls be opened at twelve noon. TheyThe polls must remain
16 open continuously until seven p.m. or such later hour, not later than nine p.m., as may be
17 designated for a precinct by resolution of the governing body of the city or county in which the
18 precinct is located. All electors standing in line to vote at the time the polls are set to close must
19 be allowed to vote, but electors arriving after closing time may not be allowed to vote. The
20 election officers present are responsible for determining who arrived in time to vote, and theythe
21 election officers shall establish appropriate procedures for making that determination. All
22 determinations required to be made pursuant to this section relating to polling hours must be
23 made, and the county auditor notified of them, no later than thirty days prior to an election.
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1 SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Subsection 2 of section 16.1-01-09 of the North Dakota
2 Century Code is amended and reenacted as follows:
3 2. An individual may not sign any initiative or referendum petition circulated pursuant to
4 article III of the Constitution of North Dakota unless the individual is a qualified elector.
5 An individual may not sign any petition more than once, and each signer also shall
6 also legibly print the signer's name, complete residential address or rural route or
7 general delivery address, and the date of signing on the petition. Every qualified
8 elector signing a petition shall do so in the presence of the individual circulating the
9 petition. A referendum or initiative petition must be on a form prescribed by the
10 secretary of state containing the following information:
11 REFERENDUM [INITIATIVE] PETITION
12 TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE,
13 STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA
14 We, the undersigned, being qualified electors request [House (Senate) Bill
15 __________ passed by the __________ Legislative Assembly] [the following
16 initiated law] be placed on the ballot as provided by law.
17 SPONSORING COMMITTEE
18 The following are the names and addresses of the qualified electors of the state
19 of North Dakota who, as the sponsoring committee for the petitioners, represent
20 and act for the petitioners in accordance with law:
21 Name Address
22 _____________________(Chairperson) __________________________
23 ______________________________ __________________________
24 PETITION TITLE
25 (To be drafted by the secretary of state, approved by the attorney general, and
26 attached to the petition before circulation.)
27 FULL TEXT OF THE MEASURE
28 IF MATERIAL IS UNDERSCORED, IT IS NEW MATERIAL WHICH IS BEING
29 ADDED. IF MATERIAL IS OVERSTRUCK BY DASHES, THE MATERIAL IS
30 BEING DELETED. IF MATERIAL IS NOT UNDERSCORED OR OVERSTRUCK,
31 THE MATERIAL IS EXISTING LAW THAT IS NOT BEING CHANGED.
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1 [The full text of the measure must be inserted here.]
2 INSTRUCTIONS TO PETITION SIGNERS
3 You are being asked to sign a petition. You must be a qualified elector. This
4 means you are eighteen years old, you have lived in North Dakota thirty days,
5 and you are a United States citizen. All signers also shall also legibly print their
6 name, complete residential address or rural route or general delivery address,
7 and the date of signing on the petition. Every qualified elector signing a petition
8 must do so in the presence of the individual circulating the petition.
9 QUALIFIED ELECTORS
10 Signed
11 Month, Name of Printed Residential Address or City
12 Day, Qualified Name of Complete Rural Route State,
13 Year Elector Qualified or General Delivery Zip Code
14 Elector Address
15 1. _____________________________________________________________
16 2. _____________________________________________________________
17 3. _____________________________________________________________
18 4. _____________________________________________________________
19 5. _____________________________________________________________
20 6. _____________________________________________________________
21 7. _____________________________________________________________
22 8. ____________________________________________________________
23 The number of signature lines on each page of a printed petition may vary if
24 necessary to accommodate other required textual matter. In this section for
25 referral petitions "full text of the measure" means the bill as passed by the
26 legislative assembly excluding the session and sponsor identification. In this
27 section for initiative petitions "full text of the measure" means an enacting clause
28 which must be: "BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NORTH
29 DAKOTA" and the body of the bill. If the measure amends the law, all new
30 statutory material must be underscored and all statutory material to be deleted
31 must be overstruck by dashes. When repealing portions of the law, the measure
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1 must contain a repealer clause and, in brackets, the text of the law being
2 repealed.
3 SECTION 3. AMENDMENT. Subsection 2 of section 16.1-01-09.1 of the North Dakota
4 Century Code is amended and reenacted as follows:
5 2. An individual may not sign a recall petition circulated pursuant to article III of the
6 Constitution of North Dakota or section 44-08-21 unless the individual is a qualified
7 elector. An individual may not sign a petition more than once, and each signer also
8 shall also legibly print the signer's name, complete residential, rural route, or general
9 delivery address, and the date of signing on the petition. Every qualified elector
10 signing a petition must do so in the presence of the individual circulating the petition. A
11 petition must be in substantially the following form:
12 RECALL PETITION
13 We, the undersigned, being qualified electors request that
14 ____________________________________(name of the individual being
15 recalled) the___________________(office of individual being recalled) be
16 recalled for the reason or reasons of______________________________.
17 RECALL SPONSORING COMMITTEE
18 The following are the names and addresses of the qualified electors of the state
19 of North Dakota and the political subdivision who, as the sponsoring committee
20 for the petitioners, represent and act for the petitioners in accordance with law:
21 Complete Residential,
22 Rural Route,
23 or General
24 Name Delivery Address
25 1. _____________________(Chairperson) _________________________
26 2. __________________________________________________________
27 3. __________________________________________________________
28 4. __________________________________________________________
29 5. __________________________________________________________
30 INSTRUCTIONS TO PETITION SIGNERS
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1 You are being asked to sign a petition. You must be a qualified elector. This
2 means you are eighteen years old, you have lived in North Dakota for thirty days,
3 and you are a United States citizen. All signers also shall also legibly print their
4 name, complete residential, rural route, or general delivery address, and date of
5 signing on the petition. Every qualified elector signing a petition must do so in the
6 presence of the individual circulating the petition.
7 QUALIFIED ELECTORS
8 Signed Printed Complete Residential,
9 Month, Name of Name of Rural Route, City
10 Day, Qualified Qualified or General State,
11 Year Elector Elector Delivery Address Zip Code
12 1. __________________________________________________________
13 2. __________________________________________________________
14 3. __________________________________________________________
15 4. __________________________________________________________
16 5. __________________________________________________________
17 6. __________________________________________________________
18 7. __________________________________________________________
19 8. __________________________________________________________
20 The number of signature lines on each page of a printed petition may vary if
21 necessary to accommodate other required textual matter.
22 SECTION 4. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-02-12 of the North Dakota Century Code is
23 amended and reenacted as follows:
24 16.1-02-12. Information contained and maintained in the central voter file.
25 The central voter file must contain the following information for each individual included in
26 the file:
27 1. The complete legal name of the individual.
28 2. The complete residential address of the individual.
29 3. The complete mailing address of the individual, if different from the individual's
30 residential address.
31 4. The unique identifier generated and assigned to the individual.
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1 5. A status designation showing whetherof the individual's abilityeligibility to vote in a
2 precinct has been inactivated as a result of death or because the individual is no
3 longer a resident of the precinct according to section 16.1-01-04.
4 6. The county, legislative district, city or township, school district, county commissioner
5 district, if applicable, precinct name, and precinct number in which the individual
6 resides.
7 7. Beginning in 2008, four years of an individual's voting history, if applicable.
8 8. Date of birth.
9 9. The individual's driver's license or nondriver identification card number issued by the
10 department of transportation, or the unique identifier from an official form of
11 identification issued by a tribal government to a tribal member residing in this state.
12 10. Any other information requested of and obtained from the individual deemed
13 necessary by the secretary of state for the proper administration of the central voter
14 file.
15 SECTION 5. A new section to chapter 16.1-02 of the North Dakota Century Code is created
16 and enacted as follows:
17 Voter lists and reports - Availability for voter list maintenance.
18 The secretary of state may generate a voter list or a report generated from the central voter
19 file to be transmitted to other states, or a consortium of states, for maintaining the integrity of
20 elections.
21 SECTION 6. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-16-01 of the North Dakota Century Code is
22 amended and reenacted as follows:
23 16.1-16-01. Election recounts.
24 A recount of any primary, special, or general election for nomination or election to a
25 congressional, state, district, legislative, county, or city office, or for the approval or disapproval
26 of any measure, question, or bond issue submitted to the qualified electors of this state or one
27 of its political subdivisions must be conducted according to guidelines established by the
28 secretary of state and as follows:
29 1. A recount must be conducted when:
30 a. Any individual failed to be nominated by the individual's party or to a no-party
31 office in a primary election by one percent or less of the highest vote cast for a
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1 candidate seeking nomination from the political party for the office sought or for a
2 candidate for the no-party office sought.
3 b. Any individual failed to be elected in a general or special election by one-half of
4 one percent or less of the highest vote cast for a candidate for that office.
5 c. A question, measure, or bond issue submitted to the qualified electors has been
6 decided by a margin not exceeding one-fourth of one percent of the total vote
7 cast for and against the question at any election.
8 2. A demand for a recount may be made by any of the following:
9 a. Any individual who failed to be nominated by the individual's party or to a
10 no-party office in a primary election by more than one percent and less than two
11 percent of the highest vote cast for a candidate seeking nomination from the
12 political party for the office sought or for a candidate for the no-party office
13 sought.
14 b. Any individual who failed to be elected in a general or special election by more
15 than one-half of one percent and less than two percent of the highest vote cast
16 for a candidate for that office.
17 3. A demand for a recount must be made within three days after the canvass of the votes
18 by the county canvassing board in the case of county elections and city elections that
19 are combined with the county and by the state canvassing board in the case of
20 presidential, congressional, state, judicial district, multicounty district, or legislative
21 elections. The demand must be in writing, must recite one of the conditions in
22 subsection 2 as a basis for the recount, must contain a bond in an amount previously
23 established by the auditor or auditors doing the recount sufficient to pay the cost of the
24 recount, and must be filed with:
25 a. The secretary of state when the recount is for a congressional, state, district, or
26 legislative office.
27 b. The county auditor when the recount is for a county office or city office when a
28 city election is combined with the county.
29 4. Within four days after the canvass of the votes by the state canvass