25-610. Official general ballots for national and state offices; form; rotation of names of candidates; duties of secretary of state.
25-610
25-610. Official general ballots for national and state offices; form;rotation of names of candidates; duties of secretary of state.The secretary of state shall furnish to each county election officerforms for ballots in their respective counties. The secretary of state shallprepare a rotation of the differentcandidates appearing on the official general ballot for the national andstate offices for each such office. Such rotation shall be developed andarranged so that each candidate shall have an equal opportunity as near aspracticable for the respective offices to which they are nominated. In casethere is more than one candidate for any national or state office, thesecretary of state shall divide the state or part thereof, into as manydivisions as there are names to go on the ballot for each particularoffice. In making such division the secretary of state shall divide, inregular order, the alphabetical list of counties into the required numberof divisions, in such a manner that all divisions are as nearly equal asconvenient in the number of registered voters in such division as compiled bythe office of the secretary of state. The secretary of state, in certifying the list ofnames of candidates to the county election officers, shall assign, inregular order from the alphabetical list of candidates for each office, theballot position for each candidate in such a manner that every candidatefor any office shall occupy a different ballot position in each division.When, in the case of candidates for national or state offices elected onless than a statewide basis, the secretary of state finds it impossible tomake a division which allows each such candidate in any given district anequitable or fair opportunity to have such candidate'sname first on the ballotin the respective counties of the district, the secretary of state shallorder the county election officers in the various counties of the districtto rotate the names of the candidates for such district offices accordingto precinct to obtain an equitable division. The names of candidates forthe same office but for different terms of service therein shall bearranged in groups according to the length of their respective terms.
In the case of the governor and lieutenant governor running together,when the word "candidate" is used in this section, it shall mean pair ofcandidates.
History: L. 1973, ch. 153, § 17; L. 1975, ch. 204, §5; L. 1984, ch. 139, § 1;L. 1990, ch. 120, § 3; Jan. 25.