Bill
HB 1287
Adds clearer registration methods and rules, enabling in-person, mail, same-day, and DMV-based registration with a 30-day pre-election fetch and permanent central file.
Status
- Introduced: November 13, 2024.
- Legislative outcome: Reached second reading but failed to pass (yeas 15, nays 75). The bill did not become law.
Purpose and intent
- To add a new statutory section governing how qualified electors register to vote in North Dakota and to authorize the Secretary of State to adopt related rules and registration forms. The bill seeks to clarify permitted registration methods, timing restrictions around statewide elections, required information on registration forms, and administrative responsibilities for registering and maintaining voter records.
Key provisions (section-by-section highlights)
1. Residence requirement — A qualified elector must register in the precinct where the elector resides to be eligible to vote in statewide special, primary, or general elections.
Mail registration — A qualified elector may register by mail by submitting a completed registration form to the county auditor at any time, except during the 30 days immediately before any statewide special, primary, or general election.
Motor vehicle and public-assistance interactions — Except during the 30-day pre‑election blackout, a person may register (or be allowed to register) when:
In-person county registration — A qualified elector may register in person at the county auditor’s office by completing a registration form at any time up to the day before a statewide special, primary, or general election.
Absentee/mail ballot registration — If an elector applies for an absentee or mail ballot, the elector may request a registration form and may complete and submit it with the ballot provided the registration form is mailed and received within 30 days of the election.
Same‑day registration at polls — An individual may register on election day by completing the prescribed form and providing required information at the correct polling place.
County auditor duties — Upon receipt of a properly completed and signed registration form, the county auditor or authorized election officer must register the individual in the central voter file.
Secretary of State duties — The Secretary of State shall prescribe the registration forms to be used; forms must include name, address, date of birth, last place of registration, and any other information necessary to ensure accurate registration.
DOT cooperation — The Department of Transportation must cooperate with the Secretary of State to develop voter registration forms for use with driver’s license/ID applications, renewals, and change-of-address/name requests.
No party designation on form — Political party affiliation may not be indicated on the registration form.
Central file operations and permanence — The Secretary of State must adopt rules and prescribe forms for transfers within and deletions from the central voter file. Subject to those rules, registration is permanent.
Who would be affected
- Qualified electors/residents seeking to register (or update registration).
- County auditors and local election officers responsible for receiving and entering registration forms.
- The Secretary of State (rulemaking and form prescriptions).
- Department of Transportation (coordination on DMV-based registration processes).
- Election administrators handling absentee/mail ballots and same‑day registrations.
Procedural and timeline aspects
- The bill would have created statutory authority for the Secretary of State to adopt administrative rules implementing form content, transfer, and deletion procedures.
- Because the bill failed on second reading (yeas 15, nays 75), its provisions were not enacted; no effective date or implementation timetable applies.
Notes
- The text as introduced contains specific timing limits (notably the 30‑day pre‑election restriction for some registration methods and a provision allowing in‑person registration up to the day before an election).
- The bill focuses on administrative clarity and access (DMV and public assistance channels, same‑day registration), while retaining a 30‑day restriction for some mail/automated registration routes prior to statewide elections.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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