There is a newer version of the North Dakota Century Code
2009 North Dakota Code
16.1 Elections
16.1-03 Party Committee Organization
Download pdfcaucus must be held by every election precinct at a site within or reasonably close to
the precinct in the manner provided in sections 16.1-03-01 through 16.1-03-03. 2. The legislative district chairman of each party shall issue the call for the precinct
caucus at least twenty days before the time set for holding the caucus and the call
must contain the following: a. Name of party. b. Precinct number or name. c. Date of caucus. d. Place of caucus. e. Hours of caucus. f. A statement of the business to be conducted, including the election of precinct
committeemen and such other persons as may be provided by state law and
party rules. g. The name of the district chairman issuing the call. 3. The district chairman shall provide ten days' published notice in the official
newspaper in circulation within each precinct in the district. The notices must contain that information set forth in subsection 2. The district chairman may include
the information required by this section for all precincts in the district in one notice for
publishing purposes. 16.1-03-02. Who may participate in and vote at caucus. 1. Only those persons who are qualified electors pursuant to section 16.1-01-04 may
vote or be elected as committeemen or officers at the precinct caucus. 2. Only those persons who either voted or affiliated with the party at the last general
election or intend to vote or affiliate with the party at the next general election may
vote at the precinct caucus. 3. In case the right of a person to participate at the caucus is challenged, the question
of the person's right to participate must be decided by a vote of the whole caucus. A
person so challenged may not vote on the question of the person's right to
participate in the caucus, and a two-thirds vote of the whole caucus is required to
exclude a person from participation. 4. No person may vote or participate at more than one precinct caucus in any one year. 16.1-03-03. Caucus business and elections - Political parties entitled to elect committeemen. 1. Each precinct caucus shall elect a chairman, committeemen as provided in
subsection 3, and other officers as may be provided by party rules. The caucus may Page No. 1 also discuss party policies, candidates, and any other business as prescribed by
party rules. 2. No political organization is entitled to elect a precinct committeeman at its precinct
caucus unless: a. The organization nominated and had printed on the ballot at the last preceding
general 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, attorney general, or secretary of state; and b. The candidates provided for in subdivision a received at least five percent of the
total vote cast for presidential electors or for governor, attorney general, or
secretary of state within this state at that election. 3. Each political party in each voting precinct of this state, otherwise qualifying under
subsection 2, is entitled to elect one precinct committeeman for each two hundred
fifty votes, or fraction thereof, cast for the party's presidential electors, governor,
attorney general, or secretary of state in the precinct in the last general election.
Each precinct is entitled to at least one precinct committeeman for each party which
qualifies under subsection 2. Each precinct committeeman must be an elector of the
precinct in which the committeeman resides and must be elected for a two-year
term. 16.1-03-04. Candidates elected at caucus - Tie vote - Canvassing vote. Repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 189, § 12. 16.1-03-05. Vacancies in office of precinct committeeman - Filling. A vacancy in the office of precinct committeeman, which occurs after the organization of the district committee,
must be filled by appointment from the precinct by the district executive committee of the party.
Notice of the appointment must be given to the county auditor. 16.1-03-06. District committee of political party - How constituted. Repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 189, § 12. 16.1-03-07. Meeting of district committee - Organization. 1. In every odd-numbered year, the district committee of each party shall meet within
fifteen days after the precinct caucus provided for in section 16.1-03-01. The day,
hour, and site must be set by the existing district committee chairman. The precinct
committeemen of a party, selected as provided by this chapter, with any other
persons provided for by the district committee's bylaws and as the district committee
designates, constitute the district committee of the party. The district committee of a
party must be organized to coincide with the geographical boundary lines of state
legislative districts. Each member of any committee provided for in this chapter
must be a qualified elector and must retain the office the member was elected to
until a successor is chosen. The district committee shall organize by: a. Selecting a chairman, vice chairman, secretary, and treasurer chosen by the
district committee. The officers selected need not be precinct committeemen;
however, all the officers must be voting members of the district committee. b. Adopting rules and modes of procedure not in conflict with law. c. Filling any vacancies in the office of precinct committeeman pursuant to section
16.1-03-05. d. Selecting an executive committee consisting of five or more persons chosen
from the district committee. The chairman, vice chairman, treasurer, and Page No. 2 secretary of the district committee must be members and the officers of the
executive committee. That party's nominees for and members of the legislative
assembly may also be members of the executive committee. 2. If the office of chairman becomes vacant, the vice chairman shall hold the office until
the next regular election for the office or until a new chairman is selected by the
district committee for the balance of the term, whichever occurs first. 16.1-03-08. State committee - Membership. The state committee of each party consists of the chairman of each of the district committees of the party and any person provided
for in the bylaws of the state committee. 16.1-03-09. Proxies permissible - Exception. Repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 189, § 12. 16.1-03-10. Member of committee to be qualified elector - Term of member. Repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 189, § 12. 16.1-03-11. State committee - Meetings - Organization - Vacancies. The state committee shall meet on or before July first of each odd-numbered year. The committee shall
organize by selecting a chairman, vice chairman, secretary, and treasurer and by adopting rules
and modes of procedure. The party's bylaws must be filed with the secretary of state. The
officers elected need not be members of the committee, but they shall become voting members
of the committee after their election. Within thirty days following the state committee's organization, the newly elected chairman shall notify the secretary of state of the names of the
party officers selected and the names and addresses of the party's district chairmen. These
officers, with any other persons provided for by the party's bylaws and as the state committee
designates, constitute the executive committee of the state committee. If the office of chairman
becomes vacant, the vice chairman holds the office until the next regular election for the office or
until a new chairman is selected by the state committee for the balance of the term, whichever
occurs first. A vacancy in an office of the state committee, other than chairman and a party
district chairman, must be filled upon a majority vote of the state committee. The chairman of the
state committee may temporarily fill any vacancy existing on the state committee until the state
committee convenes to fill the vacancy. The secretary of state must be notified of any changes
in membership of the state's committee officers or the party's district chairmen. 16.1-03-12. Meeting of district committee to elect delegates to state party convention - Optional precinct caucus - Proxies. Prior to the sixtieth day before the primary
election in each election year and upon the call of the chairman, the district committee of each
state legislative district shall meet at a place designated by the chairman to elect delegates to a
state party convention to be held as provided in this chapter. If the bylaws of the state legislative
district so provide, precinct committeemen may call a precinct caucus prior to the district meeting
to elect additional delegates to attend the district meeting. Delegates to the state convention
must be elected as provided by the state party's bylaws. Delegates to the state convention must
be electors of their district. 16.1-03-13. When state party convention held. Repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 189, § 12. 16.1-03-14. When state party convention held and duties of state party convention. The state party conventions must be held in each presidential election year at a place and time
designated by the party state committee. The state party convention provided for in this chapter
shall: 1. Nominate the legal number of candidates for its party for the offices of presidential
electors. 2. Elect the required number of delegates and alternates to the national party
convention as provided by the party's bylaws or national party rules. 3. Conduct other business as shall come before the convention. Page No. 3 The candidate or candidates for endorsement or election must be declared endorsed or elected
pursuant to the rules of the party involved, and the chairman and secretary of the convention
shall issue certificates of endorsement as provided in section 16.1-11-06 or certificates of
election. The names of the candidates nominated for presidential electors with the surname of
the presidential candidate the party wishes to place on the general election ballot must be
certified by the chairman and secretary of the convention to the secretary of state by four p.m. on
the sixtieth day before the general election to be placed upon the general election ballot as
provided in section 16.1-06-07.1. 16.1-03-15. Expenses of delegates to national conventions. Repealed by S.L. 1987, ch. 247, § 1. 16.1-03-16. Filling vacancy occurring in office of national committeeman or committeewoman. Repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 189, § 12. 16.1-03-17. Political party reorganization after apportionment. If apportionment of the legislative assembly becomes effective after the organization of political parties as provided
in this chapter and before the primary or the general election, the secretary of state shall
establish a timetable for the reorganization of the parties as rapidly as possible before the
ensuing election. When the timetable is established, the secretary of state shall notify all the
county auditors of the timetable and of the details of the legislative apportionment as it affects
each county. The secretary of state or county auditor may not require reorganization of precincts
in which boundaries are unchanged after apportionment by the board of county commissioners
or the governing body of the city pursuant to chapter 16.1-04. Each county auditor shall publish a
notice in the official county newspaper containing: 1. A statement that legislative apportionment has occurred. 2. A description and a map of the new legislative districts and the precincts as
established by the governing bodies of the counties and cities in the county,
pursuant to section 16.1-04-01. 3. The date, time, and places of the precinct caucuses and district committee meetings
determined by the secretary of state and the county auditor to be necessary
according to the new districts and precincts established. The political parties, in the newly established precincts and districts, shall then proceed to
reorganize as closely as possible in conformance with this chapter and in conformance with the
timetable established by the secretary of state. 16.1-03-18. Unfair and corrupt election practices applicable to chapter. Repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 189, § 12. 16.1-03-19. Organizations allowed to nominate statewide and legislative candidates. A political organization may not endorse candidates or have candidates petition for
president, vice president, Congress, statewide office, or legislative office as set forth in chapter
16.1-11, unless the organization: 1. Had printed on the ballot at the last preceding general election the names of a set of
presidential electors pledged to the election of the party's candidate for president
and vice president, a candidate for governor, a candidate for attorney general, or a
candidate for secretary of state and those candidates for presidential electors,
governor, attorney general, or secretary of state received at least five percent of the
total vote cast for presidential electors, the office of governor, attorney general, or
secretary of state within this state at that election; and 2. Organized according to all requirements of this chapter; or 3. Filed a petition with the secretary of state as set forth in section 16.1-11-30. Page No. 4 16.1-03-20. Political parties may conduct presidential preference caucuses. Repealed by S.L. 2009, ch. 181, § 1. Page No. 5 Document Outline chapter 16.1-03 party committee organization
Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. North Dakota may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.