1. For any primary, general, or special statewide, district, or county election, the board of county commissioners may, before the sixtieth day before the day of the election, create a special precinct, known as an early voting precinct, to facilitate the conduct of early voting in that county according to chapters 16.1-13 and 16.1-15. At the determination of the county auditor, more than one voting location may be utilized for the purposes of operating the early voting precinct. The election board of the early voting precinct must be known as the early voting precinct election board. The county auditor shall supply the board with all necessary election supplies as provided in chapter 16.1-06.
2. If the board of county commissioners establishes an early voting precinct according to this section, the following provisions apply:
a. Early voting must be authorized during the fifteen days immediately before the day of the election. The county auditor shall designate the business days and times during which the early voting election precinct will be open and publish notice of the early voting center locations, dates, and times in the official county newspaper once each week for three consecutive weeks immediately before the day of the election
b. The county auditor shall appoint the early voting precinct election board for each voting location that consists of one independent representative to act as the inspector and an equal number of representatives from each political party represented on an election board in the county, as set out in section 16.1-05-01, to act as judges. Each official of the board shall take the oath required by section 16.1-05-02 and must be compensated as provided in section 16.1-05-05.
c. The county auditor, with the consent of the board of county commissioners, shall designate each early voting location in a public facility, accessible to the elderly and the physically disabled as provided in section 16.1-04-02. With respect to polling places at early voting precincts, "election day" as used in sections 16.1-10-03 and 16.1-10-06.2 includes any time an early voting precinct polling place is open.
d. At the close of each day of early voting, the inspector, along with a judge from each political party represented on the board, shall secure all election-related materials, including:
(1) The pollbooks and access to any electronically maintained pollbooks.
(2) The ballot boxes containing voted ballots.
(3) Any void, spoiled, and unvoted ballots.
e. Ballot boxes containing ballots cast at an early voting location may not be opened until the day of the election except as may be necessary to clear a ballot jam or to move voted ballots to a separate locked ballot box in order to make room for additional ballots.
f. Each early voting location may be closed, as provided in chapter 16.1-15, at the end of the last day designated for early voting in the county. Results from the early voting precinct may be counted, canvassed, or released under chapter 16.1-15 as soon as any precinct within the county, city, or legislative district closes its polls on the day of the election. The county auditor shall designate a location for the closing, counting, and canvassing process under chapter 16.1-15, which location must be open to any person for the purpose of observing.
g. The early voting precinct election board shall comply with the requirements of chapters 16.1-05, 16.1-13, and 16.1-15, as applicable.