North Dakota Statutes § 16.1-07-08 Delivering ballots - Envelopes accompanying - Affidavit on envelope - Challenging electors voting by absentee ballot - Inability of elector to sign name

1. Upon receipt of an application for an official ballot properly filled out and duly signed, or as soon after receipt of the application as the official ballot for the precinct in which the applicant resides has been prepared, the county auditor, city auditor, or business manager of the school district, as the case may be, shall send to the absent voter by mail or secure electronic delivery, if the secretary of state determines the necessary technology is available and according to the choice made by the voter on the application for the ballot, at the expense of the political subdivision conducting the election, one official ballot, or personally deliver the ballot to the applicant or the applicant's agent, which agent may not, at that time, be a candidate for any office to be voted upon by the absent voter. The agent shall sign the agent's name before receiving the ballot and deposit with the auditor or business manager of the school district, as the case may be, authorization in writing from the applicant to receive the ballot or according to requirements set forth for signature by mark. The auditor or business manager of the school district, as the case may be, may not provide an absent voter's ballot to an individual acting as an agent who cannot provide a signed, written authorization from an applicant. A person may not receive compensation, including money, goods, or services, for acting as an agent for an elector, and a person may not act as an agent for more than four electors in any one election. A voter voting by absentee ballot may not require the political subdivision providing the ballot to bear the expense of the return postage for an absentee ballot.

2. With the exception provided in section 16.1-07-24 for secure remote electronic casting of a ballot granted to a covered voter, the absent voter marking the ballot by electronic means shall return the instrument containing the vote selections made by the voter to the assigned polling place where, after being recorded in the pollbook by a poll clerk, the choices listed in the instrument will be converted into the official ballot. Upon confirmation by the voter the vote selections marked by the ballot marking device are correct, the voter shall cast the ballot in the tabulation device.

3. Any qualified elector living with a disability that prevents the elector from reading or marking the ballot without assistance and who wishes to cast an absentee ballot may mark the electronic ballot by electronic means. The voter then shall deposit the ballot electronically on the secure server that is used by covered voters as defined in section 16.1-07-18 . Upon system notification that a ballot has been left by a qualified voter, an election official shall print the ballot, place the ballot in a secrecy envelope, attach the absent voter's application for the ballot, and securely store the enveloped ballot and the application with all the other absentee ballots. When the absentee ballot election board meets to process and count absentee ballots, the ballot from the covered voter must be transferred onto a paper ballot and tabulated with all the other valid absent voters' ballots.

4. If there is more than one ballot to be voted by an elector of the precinct and the voting system will be unable to tabulate one or more of the ballots, one of each kind must be included and a secrecy envelope and a return envelope must be enclosed with the ballot or ballots. The front of the return envelope must bear the official title and post-office address of the officer supplying the voter with the ballot and upon the other side a printed voter's affidavit in substantially the following form:

5. If the absent voter is unable to sign the voter's name on the affidavit required under this section, the voter shall mark (X) or use the applicant's signature stamp on the affidavit in the presence of a disinterested individual. The disinterested individual shall print the name of the individual marking the X or using the signature stamp below the X or signature stamp and shall sign the disinterested individual's own name following the printed name together with the notation "witness to the mark".

6. Each individual requesting an absent voter's ballot under this chapter must be provided a set of instructions, prescribed by the secretary of state, sufficient to describe the process of voting by absent voter's ballot. The voting instructions must contain a statement informing the individual that the individual is entitled to complete the absent voter's ballot in secrecy.

7. Each individual requesting an absent voter's ballot by mail under this chapter who cannot read the English language or lives with a disability preventing the individual from marking the voter's ballot may receive, upon request, the assistance of any individual of the voter's choice, other than the voter's employer, an officer or agent of the voter's union, a candidate running in that election, or a relative of a candidate as described in subsection 2 of section 16.1-05-02 , in marking the voter's ballot.

8. An election official shall deliver an absentee ballot to a qualified elector only upon receipt of an application meeting the requirements of section 16.1-07-06 from the elector.