BISMARCK, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – A proposed initiated Constitutional amendment would make wholesale changes in North Dakota’s election laws.

The petition has been submitted to the North Dakota Secretary of State’s office.

It would require that all voting be done by paper ballot, and the ballots would be counted by hand on election day. Early voting would be prohibited, and absentee ballots would have to be sent by mail or returned in person, meaning no drop boxes.

The measure would also prohibit the Legislature from placing any state Constitutional amendment on the ballot. It would allow non-residents of North Dakota to gather signatures, as long as they are US citizens.

Secretary of State Michael Howe has five to seven business days to draft a petition title. The group wanting to place the measure on the ballot would need 31,164 valid signatures – and it would have one year from the date the petition was approved for circulation.