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Proposed restrictions on amending North Dakota constitution to go to voters [1]

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Date: 2023-04-10 19:14:48.493000

BISMARCK — North Dakota voters next year will decide whether to approve or reject restrictions on how citizens can change the state constitution.

The state Senate on Monday, April 10, concurred with House amendments to Senate Concurrent Resolution 4013 by Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, and passed the measure 44-2.

The state House of Representatives last month passed the resolution, 73-18. The passage by veto-proof margins means voters will determine the measure's outcome in the November 2024 general election.

Myrdal has said the measure is to enhance "grassroots" efforts of citizen initiatives. She described North Dakota's constitution as standing "naked on Main Street," open to changes by out-of-state influences.

Janne Myrdal

The measure would limit citizen-initiated measures to one subject, "as determined by the secretary of state."

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Myrdal's proposal would raise the petition signature threshold for ballot placement to 5% of the state's most recent federal decennial census, up from 4%. Only qualified North Dakota voters could circulate petitions for signatures.

Constitutional initiatives also would have to be approved at both the June primary and November general elections by majority votes.

The League of Women Voters of North Dakota opposed the measure. League board member Carol Sawicki said constitutional initiatives are "an important process for the citizens of North Dakota ... and we feel that that should be maintained in its current form."

North Dakota lawmakers in recent years have grumbled about certain constitutional initiatives voters approved, including measures for a state Ethics Commission in 2018 and for term limits on the governor and state lawmakers last year.

Nearly 62% of voters in 2020 rejected a measure proposed by lawmakers that would have given the Legislature a say in passing constitutional initiatives.

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[1] Url: https://www.inforum.com/news/north-dakota/proposed-restrictions-on-amending-north-dakota-constitution-to-go-to-voters

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