§ 25-213 — Official primary election ballots; form and contents; names printed more than once on ballot prohibited, exception; names printed on ballot of one party printed or written on ballot of another party prohibited; minimum votes required for election or nomination; write-in candidate winner; withdrawal of name; municipal ballots

(a) At all national and state primary elections, the national and state offices as specified for each in this section shall be printed upon the official primary election ballot for national and state offices and the county and township offices as specified for each in this section shall be printed upon the official primary election ballot for county and township offices.
(b) The official primary election ballots shall have the following heading:
OFFICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION BALLOT______________ Party
To vote for a person whose name is printed on the ballot make a cross or check mark in the square at the left of the person's name. To vote for a person whose name is not printed on the ballot, write the person's name in the blank space, if any is provided, and make a cross or check mark in the square to the left.
The words national and state or the words county and township shall appear on the line preceding the part of the form shown above.
The form shown shall be followed by the names of the persons for whom nomination petitions or declarations have been filed according to law for political parties having primary elections, and for the national and state offices in the following order: United States senator, United States representative from _____ district, governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, commissioner of insurance, senator _____ district, representative _____ district, district judge _____ district, district magistrate judge ____ district, district attorney _____ judicial district, and member state board of education _____ district. For county and township offices the form shall be followed by the names of persons for whom nomination petitions or declarations have been filed according to law for political parties having primary elections in the following order: Commissioner ____ district, county clerk, treasurer, register of deeds, county attorney, sheriff, township trustee, township treasurer, township clerk. When any office is not to be elected, it shall be omitted from the ballot. Other offices to be elected but not listed shall be inserted in the proper places. For each office there shall be a statement of the number to vote for.
To the left of each name there shall be printed a square. Official primary election ballots may be printed in one or more columns. The names certified by the secretary of state or county election officer shall be printed on official primary election ballots and no others. In case there are no nomination petitions or declarations on file for any particular office, the title to the office shall be printed on the ballot followed by a blank line with a square, and such title, followed by a blank line, may be printed in the list of candidates published in the official paper. No blank line shall be printed following any office where there are nomination petitions or declarations on file for the office except following the offices of precinct committeeman and precinct committeewoman.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person's name shall be printed more than once on either the official primary election ballot for national and state offices or the official primary election ballot for county and township offices. No name that is printed on the official primary election ballot as a candidate of a political party shall be printed or written in as a candidate for any office on the official primary election ballot of any other political party. If a person is a candidate for the unexpired term for an office, the person's name may be printed on the same ballot as a candidate for the next regular term for such office. The name of any candidate on the ballot may be printed on the same ballot as such candidate and also as a candidate for precinct committeeman or committeewoman. No name that is printed on the official primary election ballot for national and state offices shall be printed or written in elsewhere on the ballot or on the official primary election ballot for county and township offices except for precinct committeeman or committeewoman. No name that is printed on the official primary election ballot for county and township offices shall be printed or written in on the official primary election ballot for national and state offices or elsewhere on the county and township ballot except for precinct committeeman or committeewoman.
(d) No person shall be elected to the office of precinct committeeman or precinct committeewoman where no nomination petitions or declarations have been filed, unless the person receives at least five write-in votes, resides in such precinct, is a qualified elector and is a member of such party as shown by the party affiliation list maintained in the county election office. As a result of a primary election, no person shall receive the nomination and no person's name shall be printed on the official general election ballot when no nomination petitions or declarations were filed, unless the person receives votes equal in number to not less than 5% of the total of the current voter registration designated in the state, county or district in which the office is sought, as compiled by the office of the secretary of state, except that a candidate for township office may receive the nomination and have such person's name printed on the ballot where no nomination petitions or declarations have been filed if such candidate receives three or more write-in votes. No such person shall be required to obtain more than 5,000 votes.
(e) The secretary of state by rules and regulations shall develop the official ballot for municipal elections in odd-numbered year elections.
(f) A person who won the primary election as a result of the person's name being written in on the primary ballot shall have such person's name printed on the official general election ballot for national, state, county, township or municipal office, unless the person notifies, in writing, the secretary of state for national or state office or the county election office for all other offices within 10 days following the canvass of the primary election that the person does not want such person's name on the official general election ballot.

Legislative History

R.S. 1923, 25-213; L. 1957, ch. 228, § 1; L. 1961, ch. 200, § 2; L. 1965, ch. 164, § 18; L. 1968, ch. 406, § 76; L. 1973, ch. 149, § 1; L. 1975, ch. 204, § 3; L. 1976, ch. 181, § 2; L. 1977, ch. 132, § 1; L. 1978, ch. 136, § 1; L. 1981, ch. 165, § 2; L. 1985, ch. 118, § 12; L. 1986, ch. 115, § 72; L. 1991, ch. 98, § 1; L. 1993, ch. 287, § 1; L. 1995, ch. 192, § 2; L. 2001, ch. 81, § 2; L. 2007, ch. 196, § 1; L. 2015, ch. 88, § 33; L. 2017, ch. 49, § 1; L. 2023, ch. 79, § 19; July 1.