Charles Tuttle, Minot, will be on the Nov. 8 ballot as an independent for North Dakota Secretary of State.

Tuttle said he submitted about 1,500 signatures and about 175 were rejected for incomplete addresses or illegible writing, leaving him with well over the 1,000 signatures needed.

He had filed a complaint with the North Dakota Supreme Court after the Secretary of State initially rejected numerous signatures that would have kept him off the ballot. Signatures had been thrown out because they were collected before the date when circulation was allowed. Tuttle’s complaint stated incorrect information regarding the circulation requirement was provided on candidate materials supplied by the Secretary of State, He also challenged the constitutionality of the requirement. The court had not ruled as of Friday.

Tuttle collected additional signatures and re-filed last week.

He will be on the ballot with Republican candidate Michael Howe, a state representative from West Fargo, business owner and Casselton-area farmer, and Democratic-NPL candidate Jeffrey Powell, Grand Forks, an educator and university administrator, currently with Mayville State University.

Tuttle is one of three independents who will be on the Nov. 8 ballot. State Rep. Rick Becker is running for U.S. Senate, and former Miss America Cara Mund is seeking the U.S. House seat.

Tuttle ran for state Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2020 as a write-in candidate. He ran as an independent for the U.S. House in 2018. 

After the 2020 election, Tuttle argued election irregularities existed and filed a lawsuit over lack of compliance with a state law requiring that counties have at least one polling place open on election day. The state had conducted a mail-in election due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also has been involved in a number of ballot initiatives, including helping with the term limits measure that the Supreme Court recently ordered be placed on the November ballot. The court ruled Secretary of State Al Jaeger wrongly threw out a number of petitions.

The Secretary of State turned over concerns about law violations to the Attorney General’s Office. A search of Tuttle’s home for time cards was conducted as part of the investigation into whether bonuses were paid to petition circulators. No charges have been filed in the case.