16.1-12 Certificates of Nomination - Vacancies - North Dakota Statutes

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CHAPTER 16.1-12CERTIFICATES OF NOMINATION - VACANCIES16.1-12-01.Certificate of nomination - Party and independent.A certificate ofnomination must be either:1.The certificate of nomination required to be executed by the state or a county
canvassing board pursuant to sections 16.1-15-40 and 16.1-15-21, respectively, for
party nominations.2.The certificate of nomination by petition for independent nominations provided for by
this chapter.16.1-12-02. Certificates of nomination by petition - Form and contents. Certificatesof nomination for nominees for an office to be filled at a general or special election, except for an
office appearing on the no-party ballot, may be made as provided by this section. Except for
nominees for president of the United States, names of nominees so nominated must appear on
the ballot as independent nominations.The names of nominees for president of the UnitedStates may appear on the ballot with a designation, not to exceed five words, that names the
organization or political party to which the presidential candidate affiliates. The designation may
not falsely indicate an affiliation with or the support of any political party organized in accordance
with this title or include any substantive word or phrase that is profane or that is already included
in or resembles the name of a political party entitled to a separate column under section
16.1-11-30. Except for candidates for the office of president of the United States, each certificate
of nomination by petition must meet the specifications for nominating petitions set forth in section
16.1-11-16. A candidate for the office of the president of the United States may begin gathering
the signatures for the certificate of nomination on the first day of January of a presidential
election year and shall submit the petition to the secretary of state before four p.m. on the sixtieth
day before the general election. The signatures on the petition must be in the following number:1.Except as provided in subsection 3, if the nomination is for an office to be filled by
the qualified electors of the entire state, there must be no fewer than one thousand
signatures.2.If the nomination is for an office to be filled by the qualified electors of a district less
than the entire state, the number of signatures must be at least two percent of the
resident population of the district as determined by the most recent federal decennial
census, but in no case may more than three hundred signatures be required.3.If the nomination is for the office of president, there must be no fewer than four
thousand signatures.4.If the petition is for the office of governor or lieutenant governor, it must contain the
names and other required information of candidates for both those offices.16.1-12-02.1.Applicant's name placed upon ballot - Affidavit to accompanypetition. Upon receipt by the secretary of state of the certificate of nomination provided for in
section 16.1-12-02 accompanied by the following affidavit, the secretary of state shall place the
applicant's name upon the general election ballot. The affidavit must be substantially as follows:State of North Dakota)
) ss.County of ________)I, ______________, being sworn, say that I reside at ______________, in the city of__________________, state of North Dakota; that I am a candidate for nomination to the
office of _________________ to be chosen at the general election to be held on
_____________, ____, and I request that my name be printed upon the general election
ballot as I have identified my ballot name below.I understand that nicknames arePage No. 1allowed as part of my ballot name, but titles and campaign slogans are not permissible. I
have reviewed the requirements to hold office and I certify that I am qualified to serve if
elected._______________________________________
Ballot name requestedDate _____________________________________________________
Candidate's signatureSubscribed and sworn to before me on ______________, ______._______________________________________
Notary Public
My Commission Expires ____________________NOTARY SEAL16.1-12-02.2.Counting of write-in votes - Certificate of candidacy by write-incandidates.1.An election board or canvassing board may not count or be required to officially
report any write-in vote for any:a.Individual who is required to file a certificate of write-in candidacy under this
section but who has not filed a certificate of candidacy and been certified as a
write-in candidate.b.Fictitious person or individual clearly not eligible to qualify for the office for
which the vote was cast.c.Statement concerning the candidates.d.Name written or printed by the voter for an office that did not also include the
darkening of the oval next to the write-in line, except that a write-in candidate
for a nonfederal office may make a timely written demand to a county
canvassing board to identify and preserve any write-in vote cast for the office
sought by the write-in candidate for canvass by the board. The candidate shall
deliver the demand to the county auditor and a copy to the county recorder no
later than thirty-six hours before the time the county canvassing board is
scheduled to meet.A demand only may be made if the unofficial electionresults maintained by the county auditor demonstrate that the write-in
candidate's known vote total is within the pertinent percentage limits provided in
subsection 1 or 2 of section 16.1-16-01 and a statement to that effect is
included in the demand. After delivery of the ballots as provided by section
16.1-15-08, the canvassing board shall review the ballots to identify any ballot
that contains a write-in vote.The county canvassing board shall tally andcanvass any write-in vote in the same manner as lawful or qualifying write-in
votes if the canvassing board is able to clearly ascertain the intent of the voter
from examining the ballot because the write-in candidate's name has been
written on the ballot opposite the office to be voted for or because of any other
cogent evidence of intent.e.Write-in votes which constitute five percent or less of the votes cast by the
voters for the candidate receiving the most votes for that office, except in the
case of a primary election in which enough votes were cast as write-in votes to
qualify a name for the general election ballot.This percentage is to becalculated based on the total number of write-in votes tabulated by the voting
equipment in the precincts of the county in which that office was on the ballot.f.Write-in votes that do not need to be individually canvassed based on the
requirements of this subsection must be listed on the official canvass report as
"scattered write-ins".Page No. 22.An individual who intends to be a write-in candidate for president of the United
States or for statewide or judicial district office at any election shall file a certificate of
write-in candidacy with the secretary of state by four p.m. on the twenty-first day
before the election.The certificate must contain the name and address of thecandidate and be signed by the candidate. Before the thirteenth day before the
election, the secretary of state shall certify the names of the candidates to each
county auditor as write-in candidates.3.An individual who intends to be a write-in candidate at the general election for
president of the United States shall file a certificate of write-in candidacy with the
secretary of state by four p.m. on the twenty-first day before the general election.
The certificate must contain the names and addresses of the candidates for
presidential electors for that presidential candidate and a certification of acceptance
signed by each candidate for elector. The candidate shall sign the certificate. The
certificate may also include the name and address of a candidate for vice president
of the United States and a certification of acceptance signed by that candidate. The
secretary of state shall prescribe the form of the certificate of write-in candidacy and
the certification of acceptance. Before the thirteenth day before the election, the
secretary of state shall certify the names of the presidential candidates and the
presidential electors to each county auditor as write-in candidates.4.An individual who intends to be a write-in candidate for any legislative district office
shall file a certificate of write-in candidacy with the election officer with whom the
candidate would otherwise file to have the candidate's name placed on the ballot.
The certificate must contain the name, address, and signature of the candidate.
Certificates must be filed by four p.m. on the fourth day before the election. When
the candidate files a certificate, the candidate also shall file the contribution
statement provided for under section 16.1-08.1-02 complete through the day of the
filing of the certificate.5.A certificate under this section is not required when:a.No names will appear on the ballot for an office;b.The number of candidates appearing on the ballot for an office is less than the
number to be elected; orc.The number of candidates appearing on the ballot for a party office is less than
the number of nominations a party is entitled to make.6.An individual required to file a certificate of write-in candidacy may not seek more
than one office appearing on the primary and general election ballots.16.1-12-02.3. Nominating petition for an independent candidate not to be circulatedmore than one hundred fifty days before filing time. A petition provided for in this chapter
may not be circulated or signed more than one hundred fifty days before the date when any
petition must be filed under this chapter. Any signatures to a petition obtained more than one
hundred fifty days before that date may not be counted.16.1-12-03.Certificate of nomination to contain only one name - Person toparticipate in only one nomination - Exception. No certificate of nomination provided for by
this chapter, except in the case of presidential electors, may contain the name of more than one
nominee for each office to be filled. A person elected or appointed to an office appearing on the
no-party ballot or seeking nomination and election to a no-party office may also seek nomination
to legislative office and may serve in the legislative assembly, unless the no-party office is the
office of district court judge, or a statewide elective office. Except as may be permitted in this
section, no person may participate directly or indirectly in the nomination of more than one
person for each office to be filled on the general election ballot, except a person may sign a
certificate of nomination by petition for more than one person for each office, and no person mayPage No. 3accept a nomination to more than one office on the general election ballot. No political party is
entitled to more than one set of nominees on the official general election ballot.16.1-12-04. Certificates of nomination - Time and place of filing.1.Certificates of nomination for nominees for offices to be filled by the qualified
electors of the entire state must be filed with the secretary of state. Not less than
fifty-five days before any general or special election to fill any statewide office, the
secretary of state shall certify to each county auditor the names and addresses of
the persons nominated for statewide office according to this chapter as shown on
the certificates of nomination filed in the secretary of state's office.2.Certificates of nomination for nominees for county offices and legislative offices must
be filed with the county auditor of the county in which the candidate resides. The
county auditor shall certify the names and addresses of legislative candidates filing
certificates of nomination according to this chapter to the secretary of state. When a
legislative district is composed of more than one county, the county auditor shall
certify to the county auditors of the other counties comprising the legislative district
the names and addresses of the candidates filing certificates of nomination.3.Certificates of nomination must, without regard to the means of delivery, be filed and
in the actual possession of the appropriate officer not later than four p.m. on the
sixtieth day prior to the day of election.4.The secretary of state and the county auditors shall keep on file for six months all
certificates of nomination filed with them under this chapter and all certificates of
nomination must be open to public inspection during regular business hours.16.1-12-05. Secretary of state to certify nominations to county auditor - Duty ofcounty auditor. Repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 200,