AGO 96-F-010.

• Court: North Dakota

North Dakota Attorney General Opinions 1996. AGO 96-F-010. STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION 96-F-10Date Issued: April 15, 1996Requested by: Charles Peterson Golden Valley County State's Attorney- QUESTION PRESENTED - Whether the phrase "residents upon farms" in N.D.C.C. § 15-28-02 refers to a school board member's legal residence or actual physical residence.- ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION - It is my opinion that the phrase "residents upon farms" in N.D.C.C. § 15-28-02 refers to a school board member's legal residence rather than the member's actual physical residence. - ANALYSIS - According to the facts presented, a person applying as a "rural" member of a school board under N.D.C.C. § 15-28-02 previously resided on a farmstead outside the limits of an incorporated city. Although the person claims to be maintaining the person's residence in the rural township for the purpose of voting there, the person has moved to a home within the limits of an incorporated city. Thus, the person no longer physically lives on a farm. The question presented is whether this person is a "rural" resident of the school district for purposes of N.D.C.C. § 15-28-02. "Every elector is eligible to the office for which he is an elector, except when otherwise specially provided." N.D.C.C. § 44-01-01. To be a qualified elector, a person must be at least eighteen years old, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of North Dakota. N.D. Const. art. II, § 1. In addition, a school board member must be a resident of the school district the member represents. N.D.C.C. § 15-47-05. Finally, N.D.C.C. § 15-28-02 imposes a fifth requirement under certain circumstances: When a school district is composed of six or more sections of land having a city within its boundaries and when the population of the school district does not exceed two thousand persons, at least two members of the school board must be residents upon farms outside the corporate limits of the city. (Emphasis added). I will assume for the purpose of this opinion that a person applying as a "rural" member of a school board satisfies the first four qualifications and the sole question is whether the person is a resident upon a farm under N.D.C.C. § 15-28-02. I will also assume that the person's legal residence is properly located on a farm as determined under N.D.C.C. § 54-01-26 (discussed later in this opinion). "[N.D.C.C. § 15-28-02] does not indicate whether `reside upon farms' refers to actual physical residence or legal residence," nor has this question been addressed by the North...