Section 1-8.3-116 - Publication of election notice(1) At least one hundred days before a regularly scheduled election and as soon as practicable before an election not regularly scheduled, the secretary of state shall prepare an election notice to be used in conjunction with a federal write-in absentee ballot. The election notice shall contain a list of all of the federal and state offices that as of that date the secretary of state expects to be on the ballot on the date of the election. The notice shall also contain specific instructions for how a voter is to indicate on the federal write-in absentee ballot the voter's choice for each office to be filled and for each ballot measure to be contested. The secretary of state shall post the notice on the official website of the secretary of state.(2) A covered voter may request a copy of an election notice. The county clerk and recorder shall send the notice to the voter by facsimile, electronic mail, or regular mail, as the voter requests.(3) As soon as ballot styles are certified, and not later than the date ballots are required to be transmitted to voters under article 7.5 or 8 of this title, the secretary of state shall update the notice with the certified statewide ballot questions and candidates for each office.(4) A county having one or more covered voters and that maintains a website shall provide a link to the election notice maintained on the secretary of state's official website.L. 2011: Entire article added, (HB 11-1219), ch. 176, p. 671, §1, effective May 13.OFFICIAL COMMENT
This section ensures that election jurisdictions facilitate voting first by making readily available to overseas and military voters a list of the offices and issues to be contested at an upcoming election, and later by also making candidate names readily and quickly available to these voters, thereby permitting voters who have not received the printed ballot to make the most effective use of the federal write-in absentee ballot.