25.1278.01000
Sixty-ninth
Legislative Assembly
of North Dakota
Introduced by
Senators Roers, Rummel
Representatives Christy, Stemen
A BILL for an Act to create and enact a new section to chapter 44-08 of the North Dakota
Century Code, relating to recall elections for members of a governing body of a city; and to
amend and reenact section 16.1-01-09.1 and subsection 1 of section 44-08-21 of the North
Dakota Century Code, relating to recall petitions and recall elections for political subdivision
officials.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-01-09.1 of the North Dakota Century Code is
amended and reenacted as follows:
16.1-01-09.1. Recall petitions - Signature - Form - Circulation.
1.A request of the secretary of state for approval of a petition to recall an elected official
or appointed official of a vacated elected office may be presented over the signatures
of the sponsoring committee on individual signature forms that have been notarized.
The secretary of state shall prepare a signature form that includes provisions for
identification of the recall; the printed name, signature, and address of the committee
member; and notarization of the signature. The filed signature forms must be originals.
The secretary of state shall complete the review of the form of a recall petition in not
less than five, nor more than seven, business days, excluding Saturdays.
2.An individual may not sign a recall petition circulated pursuant to article III of the
Constitution of North Dakota or, section 44-08-21, or section 3 of this Act unless the
individual is a qualified elector. An individual may not sign a petition more than once,
and each signer shall also legibly print the signer's name, complete residential, rural
route, or general delivery address, and the date of signing on the petition. Every
qualified elector signing a petition must do so in the presence of the individual
circulating the petition. A petition must be in substantially the following form:
Page No. 1 25.1278.01000
SENATE BILL NO. 2269
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RECALL PETITION
We, the undersigned, being qualified electors request that
____________________________________(name of the individual being
recalled) the___________________(office of individual being recalled) be
recalled for the reason or reasons of______________________________.
RECALL SPONSORING COMMITTEE
The following are the names and addresses of the qualified electors of the state
of North Dakota and the political subdivision who, as the sponsoring committee
for the petitioners, represent and act for the petitioners in accordance with law:
Complete Residential,
Rural Route,
or General
Name Delivery Address
1._____________________(Chairperson)_________________________
2.__________________________________________________________
3.__________________________________________________________
4.__________________________________________________________
5.__________________________________________________________
INSTRUCTIONS TO PETITION SIGNERS
You are being asked to sign a petition. You must be a qualified elector. This
means you are eighteen years old, you have lived in North Dakota for thirty days,
and you are a United States citizen. All signers shall also legibly print their name,
complete residential, rural route, or general delivery address, and date of signing
on the petition. Every qualified elector signing a petition must do so in the
presence of the individual circulating the petition.
QUALIFIED ELECTORS
Signed Printed Complete Residential,
Month, Name of Name of Rural Route, City
Day, Qualified Qualifiedor General State,
Year Elector Elector Delivery AddressZip Code
1.__________________________________________________________
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2.__________________________________________________________
3.__________________________________________________________
4.__________________________________________________________
5.__________________________________________________________
6.__________________________________________________________
7.__________________________________________________________
8.__________________________________________________________
The number of signature lines on each page of a printed petition may vary if
necessary to accommodate other required textual matter.
3.Each copy of a petition provided for in this section, before being filed, must have
attached an affidavit executed by the circulator in substantially the following form:
State of North Dakota )
) ss.
County of__________________)
(county where signed)
I,________________, being sworn, say that I am a qualified elector; that I
(circulator's name)
reside at____________________________;
(address)
that each signature contained on the attached petition was executed in my
presence; and that to the best of my knowledge and belief each individual whose
signature appears on the attached petition is a qualified elector; and that each
signature contained on the attached petition is the genuine signature of the
individual whose name it purports to be.
_________________________________________
(signature of circulator)
Subscribed and sworn to before me on______________, _____, at
____________, North Dakota.
(city)
(Notary Seal) ______________________________________________
(signature of notary)
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Notary Public
My commission expires_________________
4.A petition for recall must include, before the signature lines for the qualified electors as
provided in subsection 2, the name of the individual being recalled, the office from
which that individual is being recalled, and a list of the names and addresses of not
less than five qualified electors of the state, political subdivision, or district in which the
official is to be recalled who are sponsoring the recall.
5.For the recall of an elected official under article III of the Constitution of North Dakota,
circulators have one year to gather the required number of signatures of qualified
electors on the recall petition from the date the secretary of state approves the recall
petition for circulation. For the recall of an elected official under section 44-08-21 or
section 3 of this Act , circulators have ninety days from the date the secretary of state
approves the recall petition for circulation to submit the recall petition to the
appropriate filing officer.
6.A petition may not be circulated under the authority of article III of the Constitution of
North Dakota or, section 44-08-21, or section 3 of this Act by an individual who is less
than eighteen years of age, nor may the affidavit called for by subsection 3 be
executed by an individual who is less than eighteen years of age at the time of signing.
All petitions circulated under the authority of the constitution and of this section must
be circulated in their entirety.
7.When recall petitions are delivered to the secretary of state or other filing officer with
whom a petition for nomination to the office in question is filed, the chairman of the
sponsoring committee shall submit to the secretary of state or other filing officer an
affidavit stating that to the best of that individual's knowledge, the petitions contain at
least the required number of signatures. The chairperson also shall submit a complete
list of petition circulators which must include each circulator's full name and residential
address. The residential address must be in this state and identify the circulator's
street address, city, and zip code. Upon submission of the petitions to the appropriate
filing officer, the petitions are considered filed and may not be returned to the chairman
of the sponsoring committee for the purpose of continuing the circulation process or
resubmitting the petitions at a later time. An elector's name may not be removed by
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the elector from a recall petition that has been submitted to and received by the
appropriate filing officer.
8.The filing officer has a reasonable period, not to exceed thirty days, in which to pass
upon the sufficiency of a recall petition. The filing officer may conduct a representative
random sampling of the signatures contained in the petitions by the use of
questionnaires, postcards, telephone calls, personal interviews, or other accepted
information-gathering techniques, or any combinations thereof, to determine the
validity of the signatures. Signatures determined by the filing officer to be invalid may
not be counted and all violations of law discovered by the filing officer must be
reported to the state's attorney for possible prosecution.
9.The filing officer shall call a special recall election to be held no sooner than ninety-five
days nor later than one hundred five days following the date the filing officer certifies
the petition valid and sufficient. No special recall election may be called if that date
would be within ninety-five days of the next scheduled election.
10.A notice of the recall election must be posted in the official newspaper thirty days
before the candidate filing deadline, which is by four p.m. on the sixty-fourth day
before the election. The official notice must include the necessary information for a
candidate to file and have the candidate's name included on the ballot.
11.An official may not be recalled if the recall special election would occur within one year
of the next regularly scheduled election in which the official could be re-elected.
SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Subsection 1 of section 44-08-21 of the North Dakota Century
Code is amended and reenacted as follows:
1.An elected official of a political subdivision, except a township officer, an individual
serving as a member of a governing body of a city subject to recall under section 3 of
this Act, or an official subject to recall under section 10 of article III of the Constitution
of North Dakota, is subject to recall by petition of electors equal in number to
twenty-five percent of the voters who voted in the most recent election that the official
sought to be recalled was on the ballot, not including other recall elections. An official
who was appointed to fill a vacancy is subject to recall by petition of electors equal in
number to twenty-five percent of the voters who voted in the most recent election that
the office of the official sought to be recalled was on the ballot, not including other
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recall elections. The provisions of section 16.1-01-09.1, as they relate to signing and
circulating recall petitions, apply to petitions under this section.
SECTION 3. A new section to chapter 44-08 of the North Dakota Century Code is created
and enacted as follows:
Recall of elected members of a governing body of a city.
1.An individual serving as a member of a governing body of a city is subject to recall by
petition of electors equal in number to thirty - five percent of the voters who voted in the
most recent election that the member sought to be recalled was on the ballot, not
including other recall elections. A member who was appointed to fill a vacancy is
subject to recall by petition of electors equal in number to thirty - five percent of the
voters who voted in the most recent election that the office of the member sought to be
recalled was on the ballot, not including other recall elections. The provisions of
section 16.1 - 01 - 09.1, as they relate to signing and circulating recall petitions, apply to
petitions under this section, except all petitions circulated under this section must have
fifteen petition sponsors. Each petition sponsor shall provide on the petition the
sponsor's name and address. Each petition sponsor must be a qualified elector of the
city in which the member subject to the recall is serving.
2.A recall petition must include a stated reason for the recall and be approved as to form
before circulation by the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall complete the
review of the form of a recall petition in not less than five, nor more than seven,
business days, excluding Saturdays. To be effective, a recall petition must be
submitted to the city auditor within ninety days after the date the recall petition is
approved for circulation by the secretary of state.
3.Once circulated, the recall petition must be filed with the city auditor with whom a
petition for nomination to the office in question is filed. The city auditor shall pass on
the sufficiency of a petition by reviewing every signature affixed to the petition. Except
as otherwise provided in this section, the city auditor shall call a special election to be
held not sooner than ninety - five days nor later than one hundred five days following
the date the city auditor certifies the petition valid and sufficient. A special election may
not be called if that date would be within ninety - five days of the next scheduled
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election. An elector's name may not be removed from a recall petition that has been
submitted to and received by the city auditor.
4.The name of the member to be recalled must be placed on the ballot unless the
member resigns within ten days after the city auditor certifies the petition is valid and
sufficient. Other candidates for the office may be nominated in a manner provided by
law and shall file nominating papers with the appropriate city auditor by the sixty-fourth
day before the scheduled recall election. If the member subject to the recall election is
the only individual placed on the ballot for that election, the city auditor shall cancel the
election, declare the recall petition ineffective, and the member may continue to serve
the remainder of the member's term.
5.If the member resigns, the governing body of the city may call a special election or
appoint an individual to complete the unexpired term of the office. When the election
results have been officially declared, the candidate receiving the highest number of
votes is elected for the remainder of the term.
6.A member is not subject to recall twice during the term for which the member was
elected. A member whose office is on the ballot at a regularly scheduled election
occurring within one year is not subject to recall if the recall special election would
occur within one year of the next regularly scheduled election in which the member
could be re - elected.
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