Upon receipt of a ballot within the provided secrecy sleeve, the elector, without leaving the polling place, shall retire alone to one of the voting booths or compartments to prepare the elector's ballot by darkening the oval opposite the name of each individual for whom the elector wishes to vote. In the case of a ballot containing a constitutional amendment, an initiated or referred measure, or any other question to be submitted to a vote of the people, the elector shall darken the oval opposite the word or words expressing the elector's wish. After preparing the ballot, the elector shall place the ballot back in the provided secrecy sleeve so the ballot is concealed and so the initials of the inspector or election judge may be seen. The elector then shall deposit the ballot in the optical scanning device and wait to determine if the ballot is deposited into the ballot box or if the optical scanning device has indicated a possibility for a second-chance voting condition. If a second-chance voting condition is indicated, a voter may spoil and receive up to two additional ballots. The voter's third ballot must be cast as is and may not be returned to the voter even if errors exist causing certain votes not to be counted.
N.D.C.C. § 16.1-13-23