2012 North Dakota Century Code Title 16.1 Elections Chapter 16.1-11.1 Mail Ballot Elections
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CHAPTER 16.1-11.1
MAIL BALLOT ELECTIONS
16.1-11.1-01. Counties may conduct mail ballot elections - Polling places - Records.
1. The board of county commissioners of a county may conduct an election by mail
ballot. The mail ballot election must include city elections administered by the county
auditor and may include any other election administered by the county auditor
pursuant to an agreement with the governing body of a political subdivision within the
county. The board shall designate one or more polling places in the county to be open
on the day of the election for voting in the usual manner. The county auditor shall
place a notice at all polling places in the county used at the last statewide election
which states the location of the polling places open for the election. The county auditor
shall keep a record of each mail ballot provided to qualified electors and provide to the
election board at each polling place open on the day of the election a list of every
person who applied for a mail ballot.
2. The board of county commissioners of a county may conduct an election partially by
mail ballot. If the board of county commissioners chooses to conduct an election
partially by mail ballot, the commission may use mail ballots for any precinct in which
fewer than four hundred votes were cast for the office of governor at the last general
election at which that office was on the ballot.
16.1-11.1-02. Application for mail ballots.
The county auditor shall mail an application form for a mail ballot to each individual listed in
the central voter file for the county on one date no sooner than the fiftieth day before the
election and no later than the fortieth day before the election. The county auditor, for two
consecutive weeks after the date on which the mail ballot applications are mailed, shall publish
in the official newspaper of the county an application form for a mail ballot and a notice that
additional mail ballot applications may be obtained from the election official. The application
form for a mail ballot must be in substantially the form provided in section 16.1-07-06.
16.1-11.1-03. Mail ballot distribution.
The county auditor shall mail an official mail ballot with a return identification envelope,
voter's affidavit, and instructions according to section 16.1-07-08.
16.1-11.1-04. Voting by electors.
Upon receipt of a mail ballot, an elector shall mark it, sign the return identification envelope,
and comply with the instructions provided with the ballot. The elector may return the completed
ballot to the county auditor by mail or, before five p.m. on the day before the election, to any
other place of deposit designated by the auditor. If the elector returns the ballot by mail, the
elector shall provide the postage, and the ballot must be postmarked no later than the day
before the election.
16.1-11.1-05. Replacement ballots.
An elector may obtain a replacement ballot if a mail ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not
received by the elector. The elector seeking a replacement ballot shall make the elector's
request of the county auditor or appropriate election officer no later than four p.m. on the day
before the election.
16.1-11.1-06. Canvass of votes - Mail ballot precinct.
The county auditor shall appoint a mail ballot precinct election board for the purpose of
counting mail ballots in the same manner as prescribed in section 16.1-07-12.1. The board may
begin scanning the ballots at any time beginning on the day before election day and the closing
of the polls on election day. Results from the mail ballot precinct may be counted, canvassed, or
released under chapter 16.1-15 as soon as any precinct within the county, city, or legislative
district closes its polls on the day of the election. The county auditor shall designate a location
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for the closing, counting, and canvassing process under chapter 16.1-15, which location must
be open to any person for the purpose of observing. The board shall comply with the
requirements of sections 16.1-15-04 through 16.1-15-12 as applicable. A county conducting a
mail ballot election constitutes one voting area, and ballots need not be sorted according to
precinct or ward unless necessary for the administration of the election.
16.1-11.1-07. Counting of mail ballots.
A mail ballot may be counted only if:
1. The ballot is returned in the return identification envelope with a postmark or official
date stamp of at least the day before the election and received prior to the meeting of
the canvassing board;
2. The envelope is signed by the elector to whom the ballot is issued; and
3. The signature has been verified by the election board with the signature on the
elector's mail ballot application form.
16.1-11.1-08. Election laws applicable.
When applicable, all election procedures provided in this title must be followed.
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