(BISMARCK, ND) – A bill in the North Dakota Legislature would change how candidates how names get forwarded to the election ballot.
House Bill 1446, introduced by Bismarck Republican Representative Mike Nathe, would eliminate allowing candidates to be placed on the ballot through endorsement of a political party.
The bill would add that a candidate for Congress, statewide or legislative office and endorsed by a party’s bylaws would appear on the primary ballot through a nominating petition. Statewide offices under a party – or no-party – designation would need at least 2,000 signatures. If there was no candidate of a party for a position at the preceding general election or the office is under the no-party designation but is not a statewide office, at least 300 signatures would be required. If the office is a legislative office, then signatures of at least one percent ‘of the total resident population of the legislative district as determined by the most recent federal decennial census’ is required.
