Provided, that if the application be made for a primary election ballot such application shall also give the name of the political party with which the applicant is affiliated. [1913, ch. 155.]

§ 5. APPLICATION BLANK, HOW OBTAINED.] Such application blank shall upon request therefor, be sent by such county auditor to any absent voter by mail, and shall be delivered to any voter upon application made personally at the office of such auditor. [1913, ch. 155.]

such pre

§ 6. BALLOTS SENT HOW. AFFIDAVIT OF VOTER AND CERTIFICATE.] Upon receipt of such application properly filled out and duly signed, or as soon thereafter as the officia! absent voter ballot for the precinct in which the applicant resides, has been printed, the said county auditor shall send to such absent voter by mail, postage prepaid, one official absent voter ballot, of (or) if there be more than one absent voter ballot to be voted by an elector of such cinct, one of each kind, and shall enclose with such ballet or ballots an envelope to be furnished by such auditor; which envelope shall bear upon the front thereof the name, official title and post office address of such county auditor and upon the other side a printed affidavit in substantially the following form:

residing at...

ward in the city of..

precinct of

...in said city, county of.

and State of North Dakota, and entitled to vote in such cinct at the next election; that I expect to be absent said county of my residence on the day of holding election and that I will have no opportunity to vote in son on that day.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this.....

of....

19...; and I hereby certify tha ₺ affiant exhibited the enclosed ballots to me unmarked,

day

the

that

he then, in my presence and in the presence of no other

person, and in such manner that I could not see his

vote,

marked such ballot, and enclosed and sealed the same in

this envelope. That the affiant was not solicited or

ad

vised by me to vote for or against any candidate or meas

ure.

Provided, that if the ballot enclosed is to be voted at a primary election, the affidavit shall state the name of the political party with which the absent voter is affiliated.

Note. If such absent voter is unable to sign his name, he shall make his mark (X) and the officer taking such affidavit shall sign such voter's name, and shall state the reason for such affidavit being signed in such manner, in his certificate attached to such affidavit. [1913, ch. 155.]

§ 7. MANNER OF MARKING BALLOT.] Such absent voter shall make and subscribe the said affidavit before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths and who has an official seal, and such absent voter shall thereupon, in the presence of such officer and no other person, mark such ballot or ballots, but in such manner that such officer cannot see the vote, and such ballot or ballots shall thereupon, in the presence of such officer, be folded by such voter so that each ballot shall be separate, and so as to conceal the vote, and be in the presence of such officer deposited by such voter in said envelope, and the said envelope securely sealed. Said envelope shall be mailed by such absent voter, postage prepaid. [1913, ch. 155.]

§ 8. CARE OF BALLOT BY AUDITOR.] Upon receipt of such envelope, such county auditor shall forthwith enclose the same, unopened, together with the written application of such absent voter, in a larger envelope which shall be securely sealed and endorsed with the name of the proper voting precinct, the name and official title of such auditor, and the words, "This envelope contains an absent voter ballot and must be opened only on election days at the polls while the same are open," and such auditor shall thereafter safely keep the same in his office until the same is delivered by him as provided in the next section. [1913, ch. 155.]

§ 9. TRANSMISSION OF BALLOT TO ELECTION INSPECTOR.] In case such envelope is received by such auditor prior to the delivery of the sealed package containing the offical ballots to the inspector of elections of the precinct in which such absent voter resides, such ballot, envelope and application sealed in such envelope shall be enclosed in such package. and delivered therewith to the inspector of such percinct. In case the official ballots for such precinct shall have been

delivered to such inspector of elections at the time of the receipt by the auditor of such absent voter ballot, such auditor shall immediately enclose such application and such ballot with the envelope containing such ballot, unopened, in a larger envelope which shall be securely sealed by him and endorsed on the front with the name, official title, name of precinct and post office address of the inspector of elections of the precinct in which such absent vote resides, and the words "This envelope contains an absent voter ballot and must be opened only on election day at the polls while the same are open," and forthwith mail the same, postage prepaid, to such inspector of elections. [1913, ch. 155.]

At

§ 10. MANNER OF VOTING. VOID OR REJECTED BALLOTS.] any time between the opening and closing of the polls on such election day, the inspector or judges of election of such precinct shall first open the outer envelope only, and compare the signature of such voter to such application with the signature to such affidavit. In case the judge find the affidavit is sufficient and that the signatures correspond, and that the applicant is then a duly qualified elector of such precinct and has not voted at such election, they shall open the absent voter envelope, in such manner as not to destroy the affidavit thereon, and take out the ballot or ballots therein contained, and without unfolding the same, or permitting the same to be opened or examined, and having endorsed the same in the manner that other ballots are endorsed, deposit the same in the proper ballot box or boxes, showing by the records of such election such elector to have voted. In case such affidavit is found to be insufficient, or that the said signatures do not correspond, or that such applicant is not then a duly qualified elector of such precinct, such vote shall not be allowed, but without opening the absent voter envelope, the election inspector or a judge of such election shall mark across the face thereof, "Rejected as defective," or "Rejected as not an elector," as the case may be. The absent voter envelope, when such absent vote is voted, and the absent voter envelope with its contents, unopened, when such absent vote is rejected, shall be deposited in the ballot box containing the general or party ballots, as the case may be, retained and preserved in the manner as now by law provided for the retention and preservation of official ballots voted at such election. [1913, ch. 155.]

§ 11, ELECTOR MAY VOTE BEFORE LEAVING COUNTY. The provisions of this Act shall be construed so as to permit any qualified elector of this state who is present in this (his)

county after his official absent voter ballots of such county have been printed, and who has reason to believe that he will be absent from such county on election day as before provided in Section 2, to vote before he leaves his county, in like manner as absent voter, and any qualified elector who has marked his ballot as hereinbefore provided, who shall unexpectedly return to his precinct before or on election day, shall be permitted to vote in person, provided his ballot has not already been deposited in the ballot box. [1913, ch. 155.]

§ 12. BALLOTS FURNISHED AUDITOR, WHEN.] It shall be the duty of the secretary of state, county auditor, or any other officer by law required to prepare any general or primary election ballot, to prepare and have printed and delivered to the county auditor, at least fifteen days prior t› the holding of such election, a sufficient number of absent voter ballots provided for in Section 5, for the use of all voters likely to be absent from such county on the day of such election. [1913, ch. 155.]

§ 13. PENALTY FOR VIOLATION.] If any person shall willfully swear falsely to the affidavit in Section 6 provided for, he shall upon conviction thereof be deemed guilty of perjury and shall be punished as in such case by law provided. If the secretary of state or any county auditor or any election officer shall refuse or neglect to perform any of the duties prescribed by this Act, or shall violate any of the provisions thereof, or if any officer taking the affidavit provided for in Section 6, shall make any false statements in his certificate thereto attached, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred ($100.00) dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail, or by both such fine and imprisonment. [1913, ch. 155.]

COURT DECISIONS AFFECTING ELECTIONS

Few laws enacted by the legislature of this state have been as often before the courts for judicial review as have the election statutes. That is true of every state in the Union. The syllabi and the excerpts from the decisions handed down in the cases which are given on the pages following have been selected with the idea in view that they will aid the voter as well as the election official. Leading cases are cited in each instance. Cases from other states have been included for the reason that North Dakota is comparatively a young state and as such, in the majority of cases, looks to the court decisions of other states on ques tions of law in as much as election statutes all over the country embody the same principles.