Ballot Qualifications & Schedule
Date Initiative language can be submitted: Anytime.
Signatures are tied to vote of which office: Resident population at the last
federal decennial census
Net number of signatures required: For statutes, 2% of the population.
(12,829) and for amendments, 4% of the population. (25,659)
Distribution Requirement: None.
Circulation period: 1 year.
Do circulators have to be residents: Yes.
Date when signatures are due for certification: 90 days before the
election.
Signature verification process: North Dakota does not a have a voter
registration process. As a result, there are no registered voters. Proponents,
however, must collect the signatures of North Dakota residents. The
Secretary of State then conducts a representative random sampling of
the signatures contained in the petitions by the use of questionnaires, post
cards, telephone calls, personal interviews, or other accepted information
gathering techniques to determine the validity of the signatures.
Single-subject restriction: No.
Legislative tampering: Legislature can repeal or amend by a 2/3 vote of
each house for seven year after passage, majority vote thereafter.
Excerpted from the Initiative & Referendum Almanac by M. Dane Waters.