At any time beginning on the day before election day and the closing of the polls on election day, the election clerks and board members of the relevant precinct first shall compare the signature on the application for an absent voter's ballot with the signature on the voter's affidavit provided for in section 16.1-07-08 to ensure the signatures correspond. If the applicant is then a duly qualified elector of the precinct and has not voted at the election, they shall open the absent voter's envelope in a manner as not to destroy the affidavit thereon.

1. For any primary, general, or special statewide, district, or county election, the board of county commissioners may create a special precinct, known as an absentee ballot precinct, for the purpose of counting all absentee ballots cast in an election in that county. The election board of the absentee ballot precinct must be known as the absentee ballot counting board. The county auditor shall supply the board with all necessary election supplies as provided in chapter 16.1-06.

If the envelope containing the absent voter's ballot is received by the county auditor, auditor or clerk of the city, or business manager of the school district, as the case may be, prior to that person's delivery of the sealed package containing the official ballots to the inspector of elections of the precinct in which such absent voter resides, such ballot, after having been enclosed with the application in an envelope as required by section 16.1-07-10, must be enclosed in such package and delivered therewith to the inspector of the precinct.

Upon receipt of an envelope containing the absent voter's ballot, the proper officer immediately shall attach the application of the absent voter and file the ballot with other absentee ballots from the same precinct. Before delivering the absentee ballots to the precinct, the proper officer shall package the ballots in a manner so the ballots are sealed securely.

In the case of congressional, state, county, city, or school district elections, if an envelope postmarked or otherwise officially marked by the United States postal service or other mail delivery system before the date of election and containing an absent voter's ballot is received by the officer too late to be forwarded to the proper voting precinct in time to be tabulated, the ballot must be tallied by the canvassing board of the county, the governing body of the city, or the school board of the school district, as the case may be, at the time the returns are canvassed.

1.

Repealed by S.L. 2011, ch. 154, § 19.

The officers specified in section 16.1-07-05, upon request, shall mail an application form for an absent voter's ballot to the voter, or they may deliver the application form to the voter upon a personal application made at the officer's office. The officers may also make available or distribute the applications, prescribed by the secretary of state, to the public without any specific request being made for the applications.

1. A "veteran" is an individual who has served on continuous federalized active military duty for one hundred eighty days or the full period for which the individual was called or ordered to active military duty for reasons other than training, and who was discharged or released under other than dishonorable conditions. A discharge reflecting "expiration of term of service" or "completion of required service" or words to that effect qualifies the shorter term of service as making the individual a veteran.

The county veterans' service officer must be paid such monthly salary for full-time or part-time work as the board of county commissioners deems commensurate with the needs of the situation, together with actual living expenses when absent from the officer's established office upon official business in an amount not exceeding that allowed to state officials, upon itemized statements submitted by the officer and supported by sub vouchers or receipts as provided by section 21-05-01 and the officer's actual transportation expenses, which may not exceed the amounts provided by section 54-06-09,