The North Dakota Libertarian Party went off the ballot in November 2018 for failing to poll 5% for either Secretary of State or Attorney General. In order to get back on, it needs 7,000 valid signatures. The party is circulating that petition and is approximately half-finished.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
That’s good news to hear. I mean no disrespect to them, but how they went off the ballot is a bit embarrassing. Hopefully, there’s a lesson learned.
Questions that I have are whether there is a time frame for getting the signatures. Also, I’m curious as to what is meant by “halfway”. Is that 3500 sigs, or is that half of the amount they think they need to ensure that after certain signatures are deemed invalid they clear the 7000 threshold?
Petitions for party status in North Dakota only need approximately 8,000 signatures. There is no voter registration in North Dakota, so any group that submits 8,000 or so signatures in North Dakota can be assured that the petition is valid. The state sends a random sample of signers a postcard in the mail, and if the post office sends it back, saying the address is no good, that is considered an invalid signature. The legal requirement is 7,000. The Libertarians now have over 4,000 signatures.