28.03.040 Duties of the Election Board

(a) Voter Registration and Eligibility:

The Election Board shall permit any eligible voter to register at the polls to vote in the election. When a person's voting eligibility is questioned, s/he shall be required to execute an affidavit describing his/her name, address, date of birth, district of residence, period of latest residence, and if absent from the voting district, the reason for such absence. The Election Board shall review all affidavits and determine the eligibility of the member to vote in accordance with Chapter One (1). Challenges shall be in writing and decided by the Election Board whose decision shall be final.

(b) Notice of Election: The Election Board shall prepare a notice of the date of the election and give such notice as is appropriate to inform the eligible voters of the date, time, and polling places including, but not limited to, posting of the notice in the TISA offices and other places through the voting districts. The Notice of Election shall be published in, but not limited to, the following media: The Williston Herald, the Culbertson Searchlight, the Plentywood Herald and the Sidney Herald. The notice of Election and the list of candidates running for office will be published at least one time.

The Notice of Election shall invite qualified candidates to file a Notice of Intent of their candidacy for District Representative or Chairperson-at-large. In order to be filed with the Chairperson of the Election Board such Notice of Intent must be physically in the mailbox by 5:00 p.m. at least thirty (30) days prior to the election. The deadline date for filing the Notice of Intent shall be specified in the Notice of Election. The Notice of Election shall be posted in those places provided for herein, not less than forty-five days prior to the election.

(c) Notice of Intent for Office: All Notices of Intent for Office shall be receipted by the Chairperson of the Election Board. Immediately upon receipt of a Notice of Intent for Office of a candidate, the Chairperson of the Election Board shall convene the Election Board, which shall review all Notices of Intent for Office and shall determine whether the candidates are qualified for office pursuant to the following requirements:

(1) Each candidate must be an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.

(2) Twenty-five (25) years of age or older.

(3) Persons who are employed by the Trenton Indian Service Area cannot be elected to the Board of Directors. Employees choosing to run as a candidate must resign from his or her TISA position prior to the day of election.

(4) Residency for Chairperson means physically residing in the Trenton Indian Service Area for one (1) year or more immediately prior to the elections and in the case of candidates for District Representative, residence means physically residing at least 180 days or more immediately prior to the elections in the representative district.

Written instructions shall be included when someone asks for a Notice of Intent form, that specifies that no personal checks will be accepted, the exact deadline for filing, and that any errors in filing will result in the Notice of Intent being returned by mail.

(5) A Notice of Intent form shall be used by all candidates. The Election Board shall provide any candidate whom they deem to be ineligible three (3) days to provide them with evidence to qualify him/herself for candidacy. The decision of the Election Board on the eligibility of a candidate shall be final. This shall not preclude any candidate from seeking review from the Turtle Mountain Tribal Court. However, until a decision is handed down, the election process shall proceed. The names of all candidates found eligible to hold office shall be placed on the ballot for the election. The Election Board shall prepare all ballots and the related election materials. The official ballot shall bear the facsimile signature of the Chairman of the Election Board.

Following is the Notice of Intent form:

"I, _______________________, do solemnly affirm that I am a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, that I will be twenty-five (25) years of age or over on the election date, and have physically resided in the TISA (mark one):

( ) Chairperson and candidate one (1) year immediately prior to

election.

( ) District Representative candidate, 180 days in district

immediately prior to the election.

I, ________________________, give authorization to the TISA Election Board to verify the contents of this document and to receipt my ability to secure SURETY BONDING. I understand that if the contents of this document cannot be verified, it may be grounds for forfeiture of candidacy or office. ___________________________

Candidate

Subscribed and sworn to before me this _____ day of _________________, 19___; and I hereby certify that the affiant executed his signature to this Notice of Intent for candidacy for the TISA Board.

___________________________

Notary Public

(6) Each candidate shall furnish a statement from a surety company or commercial bank indicating the candidate is bondable sufficiently to ensure TISA from loss. Blanket bonds are permissible insofar as each candidate must be listed on such blanket bonds.

(d) Absentee Ballots: Eligible voters who are temporarily absent or otherwise unable to cast their ballots due to circumstances beyond their control, including but not limited to, service in the military, physical or mental impairment, education reason, medical emergency or treatment, or death in the family at the polling places from their districts may request an absentee ballot. Requests for such ballots must be in writing and filed with the Chairperson of the Election Board prior to the date of election.

The Chairperson will immediately furnish all request for absentee ballots to the Election Board who shall, upon determining his/her eligibility to vote, give or mail a ballot to the voter in sufficient time to permit the voter to execute and return it on or before the date of the election. Together with the ballot, there will be an inner envelope bearing on the outside the words "Absentee Ballot", a pre-addressed outer envelope, a statement informing the voter that the absentee ballot must be physically in the mailbox by 2:00 p.m. on the date of the election to be counted, and an affidavit in the following form:

I, ________________________, do solemnly affirm that I am a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians; that I will be eighteen (10) years of age or over at the election date, and have resided in the ____________ District for thirty (30) days immediately preceding the election, and am entitled to vote in the election to be held (date) , and that I cannot appear at the election because (indicate one of the following reasons: _____I expect to be absent from my district due to temporary employment; _____because of military service; _____because of illness; _____because of physical disability; _____because of attendance at an institution of learning. I further swear that I marked the enclosed ballot in secret.

________________________________

Voter

Subscribed and sworn to before me this _____ day of _________________, 19___; and I hereby certify that the affiant exhibited the ballot me unmarked; that s/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 the envelope marked "Absentee Ballot".

________________________________

Notary Public

The voter shall make and subscribe to the affidavit before any officer authorized by law to administer oaths, and thereupon in the presence of such officer and of no other person, mark such ballot, but in such manner that the officer cannot know how the ballot was marked. After marking the ballot, it shall, in the presence of the officer, be placed in the envelope marked "Absentee Ballot" and shall then be placed in the larger envelope, together with the affidavit, and returned through the U.S. Postal Service, certified mail, to the Chairperson of the Election Board at a pre-determined P.O. Box in sufficient time to be delivered to the proper district polling place prior to the counting of the ballots. The instructions for the returning of absentee ballots will be included in the absentee ballot packet. The Election Board shall maintain a separate record of all absentee ballots mailed, to whom mailed, the dates of mailing, the addresses on the envelopes, the dates of return of the ballots and from whom received, and shall count and register all such votes after all other ballots have been counted and include them in the results of that election.

The Election Board shall maintain a separate record of all absentee ballots requested, all absentee ballots permitted, to whom they were delivered, the date the vote on the ballot was cast, the date the ballot was delivered to the Election Board, and the name and address of the person who delivered the ballot to the Election Board. The Election Board shall retain and count absentee ballots after all other ballots have been counted and include all valid absentee ballots in the results of that election.