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North Dakota GOP passes measure to make ballot initiatives harder and thwart progressive victories [1]

['Daily Kos Staff']

Date: 2023-04-19  

North Dakota Republicans have approved a constitutional amendment that would make future ballot initiatives more difficult for voters to pass, the latest salvo in the GOP's wide-ranging war on direct democracy nationwide. However, the amendment must now win public approval in November 2024 before it can become law, and voters rejected a similar effort to restrict initiatives just a few years ago.

The GOP's latest proposal would crack down on voter-initiated amendments in several ways: They'd be limited to a single subject; out-of-state signature gatherers would be banned; and the number of signatures required would increase by 25%, from 4% of the state's population at the most recent census to 5%. In raw numbers, that would mean a jump from approximately 31,000 signatures to around 39,000.

The measure would also require that voters approve any initiatives at the ballot box not once but twice—first at the next primary and then, if they pass at that juncture, once again at the next general election. Notably, this requirement would not apply to amendments placed on the ballot by lawmakers, which, as they do now, would only need to win voter approval at the next general election.

Only one other state, Nevada, has a similar requirement, but there, voters get the opportunity to weigh in at two successive general elections. By mandating that one of the elections be a primary, North Dakota would further tip the scales against progressive amendments: Republicans have more reason to vote in primaries than Democrats, since winning the GOP primary is often tantamount to victory in this deep-red state.

These proposed curbs come in the wake of successes at the ballot box driven by progressives and government reformers, including an amendment that established a state ethics commission in 2018 and another that enacted term limits for governors and state legislators in 2022.

But while North Dakota is a solidly Republican state, there's no guarantee that voters will support restrictions on the initiative process: In 2020, the state voted down a GOP-backed amendment by a wide 62-38 margin that would have given lawmakers a chance to weigh in on voter-approved laws and required voters to pass them a second time if legislators rejected them.

Arizona voters did approve a Republican amendment to limit future amendments to a single subject last year, but broader efforts to make it harder to put an amendment on the ballot, like a GOP-backed proposal in Arkansas to make signature collection more difficult, have failed. Since this latest amendment in North Dakota resembles the latter much more than the former, there's a good chance voters won't accept it.

It's never too early to start talking about the House! Joining us on this week's edition of The Downballot is Inside Elections' Jacob Rubashkin, who offers his thoughts on the overall playing field and a wide range of key contests. Jacob explains why Lauren Boebert might have an easier time of it in her likely rematch, how some candidates have a "special sauce" that allows them to keep winning difficult districts, and why he thinks Mary Peltola is favored for re-election despite Alaska's persistent red lean.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/19/2164629/-North-Dakota-GOP-passes-measure-to-make-ballot-initiatives-harder-and-thwart-progressive-victories

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