Recall of elected officials of political subdivisions
N.D. Cent. Code § 44-08-21
in effect44-08-21. Recall of elected officials of political subdivisions
1. An elected official of a political subdivision, except a township officer, an individual
serving as a member of a governing body of a city, park district, or as a member of a
school board subject to recall under section 44-08-21.1, or an official subject to recall
under section 10 of article III of the Constitution of North Dakota, is subject to recall by
petition of electors equal in number to twenty-five percent of the voters who voted in
the most recent election that the official sought to be recalled was on the ballot, not
including other recall elections. An official who was appointed to fill a vacancy is
subject to recall by petition of electors equal in number to twenty-five percent of the
voters who voted in the most recent election that the office of the official sought to be
recalled was on the ballot, not including other recall elections. The provisions of
section 16.1-01-09.1, as they relate to signing and circulating recall petitions, apply to
petitions under this section.
2. A recall petition must include a stated reason for the recall and be approved as to form
before circulation by the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall complete the
review of the form of a recall petition in not less than five, nor more than seven,
business days, excluding Saturdays. To be effective, a recall petition must be
submitted to the appropriate filing officer within ninety days after the date the recall
petition is approved for circulation by the secretary of state.
3. Once circulated, the recall petition must be filed with the filing officer with whom a
petition for nomination to the office in question is filed unless that filing officer is the
individual subject to recall, in which case the petition must be filed with the secretary of
state. The filing officer with whom the petition is filed shall pass on the sufficiency of a
petition pursuant to section 16.1-01-09.1. Except as otherwise provided in this section,
the filing officer shall call a special election to be held not sooner than ninety-five days
nor later than one hundred five days following the date the filing officer certifies the
petition valid and sufficient. No special election may be called if that date would be
within ninety-five days of the next scheduled election. An elector's name may not be
removed from a recall petition that has been submitted to and received by the
appropriate filing officer.
4. The name of the official to be recalled must be placed on the ballot unless the official
resigns within ten days after the filing officer certifies the petition is valid and sufficient.
Other candidates for the office may be nominated in a manner provided by law and
shall file nominating papers with the appropriate filing officer by the sixty-fourth day
before the scheduled recall election. If the official resigns, the appropriate political
subdivision governing body may call a special election or appoint an individual to
complete the unexpired term of the office. When the election results have been
officially declared, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes is elected for
the remainder of the term. No official is subject to recall twice during the term for which
the official was elected. An official whose office is on the ballot at a regularly scheduled
election occurring within one year is not subject to recall if the recall special election
would occur within one year of the next regularly scheduled election in which the
official could be re-elected.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t44c08.pdf#nameddest=44-08-21Fetched: 10/16/2026