§ 16.1-01-09 — Initiative or referendum petitions - Signature - Form - Circulation

1. a. A request of the secretary of state for approval of a petition to initiate or refer a
measure 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 measure;
the printed name, signature, and address of the committee member; and
notarization of the signature. The filed signature forms must be originals.
b. Upon receipt of a petition to initiate or refer a measure, the secretary of state shall
draft a short and concise statement that fairly represents the measure. The
statement must be submitted to the attorney general for approval or disapproval.
c. The secretary of state and the attorney general shall complete their review of a
petition in not less than five, nor more than seven, business days, excluding
Saturdays.
d. An approved statement must be affixed to the petition by the sponsoring
committee. The statement must be called the "petition title" and placed
immediately before the full text of the measure. The petition packet, including the
approved statement and affidavits from the sponsoring committee members,
must be submitted for final review by the secretary of state within fifteen business
days, excluding Saturdays, before the petition can be approved to circulate for
the collection of signatures. Petition packets and affidavits not received within
fifteen business days are considered withdrawn.
2. An individual may not sign any initiative or referendum petition circulated pursuant to
article III of the Constitution of North Dakota unless the individual is a qualified elector.
An individual may not sign any petition more than once, and each signer shall also
legibly print the signer's name, complete residential address or rural route or general
delivery address, and the date of signing on the petition. Every qualified elector signing
a petition shall do so in the presence of the individual circulating the petition. A
referendum or initiative petition must be on a form prescribed by the secretary of state
containing the following information:
REFERENDUM [INITIATIVE] PETITION
TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE,
STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA
We, the undersigned, being qualified electors request [House (Senate) Bill
__________ passed by the __________ Legislative Assembly] [the following
initiated law] be placed on the ballot as provided by law.
SPONSORING COMMITTEE
The following are the names and addresses of the qualified electors of the state
of North Dakota who, as the sponsoring committee for the petitioners, represent
and act for the petitioners in accordance with law:
Name Address
_____________________(Chairperson) __________________________
______________________________ __________________________
PETITION TITLE
(To be drafted by the secretary of state, approved by the attorney general, and
attached to the petition before circulation.)
FULL TEXT OF THE MEASURE
IF MATERIAL IS UNDERSCORED, IT IS NEW MATERIAL WHICH IS BEING
ADDED. IF MATERIAL IS OVERSTRUCK BY DASHES, THE MATERIAL IS
BEING DELETED. IF MATERIAL IS NOT UNDERSCORED OR OVERSTRUCK,
THE MATERIAL IS EXISTING LAW THAT IS NOT BEING CHANGED.
[The full text of the measure must be inserted here.]
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 thirty days,
and you are a United States citizen. All signers shall also legibly print their name,
complete residential address or 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.
QUALIFIED ELECTORS
Signed
Month, Name of Printed Residential Address or City
Day, Qualified Name of Complete Rural Route State,
Year Elector Qualified or General Delivery Zip Code
Elector Address
1. _____________________________________________________________
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. In this section for
referral petitions "full text of the measure" means the bill as passed by the
legislative assembly excluding the session and sponsor identification. In this
section for initiative petitions "full text of the measure" means an enacting clause
which must be: "BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NORTH
DAKOTA" and the body of the bill. If the measure amends the law, all new
statutory material must be underscored and all statutory material to be deleted
must be overstruck by dashes. When repealing portions of the law, the measure
must contain a repealer clause and, in brackets, the text of the law being
repealed.
3. Each copy of any 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)
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)
Notary Public
My commission expires_________________

4. No petition may be circulated under the authority of article III of the Constitution of
North Dakota 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. A petition may
not include a statement of intent or similar explanatory information.
5. When signed petitions are delivered to the secretary of state, the chairperson of the
sponsoring committee shall submit to the secretary of state 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 secretary of state, the
petitions are considered filed and may not be returned to 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 the elector from a petition that has
been submitted to and received by the secretary of state.
6. An initiative or referendum petition may be submitted to the secretary of state until
midnight of the day designated as the deadline for submitting the petition.
7. An initiative petition may be circulated for one year from the date it is approved for
circulation by the secretary of state.