16.1-11.1 Mail Ballot Elections
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<![CDATA[CHAPTER 16.1-11.1MAIL BALLOT ELECTIONS16.1-11.1-01.Counties may conduct mail ballot elections - Polling places -Records. The board of county commissioners of a county may conduct an election by mail<br>ballot. The mail ballot election must include city elections administered by the county auditor and<br>may include any other election administered by the county auditor pursuant to an agreement with<br>the governing body of a political subdivision within the county. The board shall designate one or<br>more polling places in the county to be open on the day of the election for voting in the usual<br>manner. The county auditor shall place a notice at all polling places in the county used at the last<br>statewide election which states the location of the polling places open for the election.Thecounty auditor shall keep a record of each mail ballot provided to qualified electors and provide to<br>the election board at each polling place open on the day of the election a list of every person who<br>applied for a mail ballot.16.1-11.1-02. Application for mail ballots. The county auditor shall mail an applicationform for a mail ballot to each individual listed in the central voter file for the county on one date no<br>sooner than the fiftieth day before the election and no later than the fortieth day before the<br>election. The county auditor, for two consecutive weeks after the date on which the mail ballot<br>applications are mailed, shall publish in the official newspaper of the county an application form<br>for a mail ballot and a notice that additional mail ballot applications may be obtained from the<br>election official. The application form for a mail ballot must be in substantially the form provided<br>in section 16.1-07-06.16.1-11.1-03. Mail ballot distribution. The county auditor shall mail an official mailballot with a return identification envelope and instructions sufficient to describe the voting<br>process to each qualified elector who returns a properly completed application form to the auditor<br>by five p.m. on the fourth day before the election.The voting instructions must contain astatement informing the elector that the elector is entitled to complete the mail ballot in secrecy.<br>The auditor shall mail the ballot by first-class mail, addressed to the address of the elector<br>completing and returning a mail ballot application, and placed in an envelope that is prominently<br>marked "Do Not Forward". The return identification envelope must contain the following form:I, __________________, under penalty of possible criminal prosecution for(please print name)making a false statement, certify that I am or will be a qualified elector for the election and<br>have not and will not vote more than one ballot in this election. I also understand that<br>failure to complete the information below will invalidate my ballot._____________________________________<br>(Signature of Voter)<br>_____________________________________<br>(Mailing Address)<br>____________, North Dakota___________<br>(City)(Zip Code)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.<br>The elector may return the completed ballot to the county auditor by mail or, before five p.m. on<br>the day before the election, to any other place of deposit designated by the auditor. If the elector<br>returns the ballot by mail, the elector shall provide the postage, and the ballot must be<br>postmarked no later than the day before the election.16.1-11.1-05. Replacement ballots. An elector may obtain a replacement ballot if amail ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received by the elector.The elector seeking areplacement ballot shall make the elector's request of the county auditor or appropriate election<br>officer no later than four p.m. on the day before the election.Page No. 116.1-11.1-06. Canvass of votes - Special election board. The county auditor shallappoint a special election board for the purpose of counting mail ballots. The board may begin<br>scanning the ballots after the polls open on the day of the election but may not total the results<br>until the closing time of the polls. A county conducting a mail ballot election constitutes one<br>voting area, and ballots need not be sorted according to precinct or ward unless necessary for<br>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;2.The envelope is signed by the elector to whom the ballot is issued; and3.The signature has been verified by the election board with the signature on the<br>elector's mail ballot application form.16.1-11.1-08.Election laws applicable.When applicable, all election proceduresprovided in this title must be followed.Page No. 2Document Outlinechapter 16.1-11.1 mail ballot elections]]>