The county auditor shall mail an application form for a mail ballot to each active voter listed in the central voter file for the county and each qualified individual eligible to vote in the state for the first time on one date no sooner than the fiftieth day before the election and no later than the fortieth day before the election. The county auditor, for two consecutive weeks after the date on which the mail ballot applications are mailed, shall publish in the official newspaper of the county an application form for a mail ballot and a notice that additional mail ballot applications may be obtained from the election official. The application form for a mail ballot must be in substantially the form provided in section 16.1-07-06.