Summary — HB 1446 (North Dakota) — Placing candidate names on primary election ballot
Status: Introduced Nov 21, 2024; placed on second reading Feb 25, 2025 (amendments adopted and engrossed); second reading failed (yeas 32, nays 58); died in House committee at sine die adjournment May 5, 2025.
Purpose
- To revise North Dakota election law governing how a candidate’s name is placed on the primary election ballot — specifically changing the role of party endorsements, certificates of endorsement, and nominating petitions — and to update related campaign reporting provisions.
Key provisions and changes (by subject)
- Party conventions and endorsements (16.1‑03‑14; 16.1‑11‑05.1 repealed)
- Retains state party conventions and their authority to endorse, but removes or limits statutory mechanisms by which party endorsements automatically translate into ballot placement (see repeals below).
- Requires convention actions to follow party rules and provides for issuance of certificates consistent with remaining law.
Who may nominate / ballot access for organizations (16.1‑03‑21)
- Clarifies conditions under which a political organization may endorse candidates or have its candidates appear on ballots (organization registration, prior ballot performance, or petition qualification).
- States an endorsed candidate for Congress, statewide, or legislative office may appear on a primary ballot only through a nominating petition under section 16.1‑11‑06 (i.e., endorsement alone does not put a name on the primary ballot).
Nominating petitions and appointment (16.1‑11‑06, 16.1‑11‑10 et seq.; repeal of 16.1‑11‑09)
- Endorsed candidates generally must use the statutory nominating‑petition process to secure primary ballot placement.
- If a state party entitled to ballot access fails to have an individual nominated via petition 71 days before the primary for a given statewide office, the party may appoint a representative for that office under party bylaws and file a notification with the secretary of state within the time prescribed in statute.
Elimination of certain party endorsement mechanics and vote minimum (repeals)
- Repeals sections governing party organization endorsements and certificates of endorsement (16.1‑11‑05.1 and 16.1‑11‑09).
- Repeals the statutory minimum vote requirement at a primary election for nomination (16.1‑11‑36), removing that statutory threshold (effect would be to change how nomination is determined where that section formerly applied).
Campaign finance reporting (16.1‑08.1‑02.3 and 16.1‑08.1‑02.4)
- Adjusts pre‑election reporting windows: requires campaign disclosure statements filed prior to the 31st day before an election to include contributions received from January 1 through the 40th day before the election (statements may be submitted beginning the 39th day before the election).
- Provides required itemization (contributors over $200, totals, balances for statewide committees) and similar reporting for statewide parties and multicandidate committees.
Other related statutory edits
- Makes conforming edits across several sections of chapter 16.1 (including 16.1‑09‑02, 16.1‑11‑12, 16.1‑11‑18, 16.1‑11‑30, 16.1‑11‑39, 16.1‑12‑02(1), 16.1‑12‑09, 16.1‑13‑08.1) to align ballot‑access, petition, and reporting rules with the bill’s core changes.
Who is affected
- State and local political parties and party committees (organization rules, petition vs. endorsement processes).
- Candidates for federal, statewide, and legislative office (changes in how to secure primary ballot placement).
- Secretaries of state and election administrators (processing petitions, appointment notifications, and enforcement of reporting deadlines).
- Voters to the extent ballot composition, primary nomination processes, and public reporting of campaign activity change.
Procedural / timeline notes
- Bill advanced through Government & Veterans Affairs Committee with amendments; several floor amendments were adopted and the bill was engrossed.
- Placed on second reading Feb 25, 2025; failed second reading (32–58), and did not advance before adjournment (died in House committee May 5, 2025).
Potential impacts (summary)
- Would reduce statutory mechanisms by which party endorsements alone secure primary ballot placement, shifting greater emphasis to the nominating‑petition process.
- Potentially increases administrative clarity around petition timing and party appointments when petitions are not filed.
- Repeal of the minimum‑vote provision could change nomination outcomes in closely contested primaries (removes a statutory floor that previously applied).
- Alters timing and content of campaign finance disclosure before elections, affecting compliance obligations for candidates and committees.
Sources: Bill text and committee report (House Bill No. 1446, Sixty‑ninth Legislative Assembly of North Dakota) and House journal actions (dates and votes noted above).
