The Secretary of State shall refuse to file any initiative petition being submitted upon any of the following grounds:
That the petition is not in the form required by Section 23-17-19;
That the petition clearly bears insufficient signatures;
That one or more signatures appearing on the petition were obtained in violation of Section 23-17-17(2), Section 23-17-57(2) or Section 23-17-57(3);
That the time within which the petition may be filed has expired; or
That the petition is not accompanied by the filing fee provided for in Section 23-17-21.
In case of such refusal, the Secretary of State shall endorse on the petition the word “submitted” and the date, and retain the petition pending appeal.
If none of the grounds for refusal exists, the Secretary of State shall accept and file the petition.