By Carol Sawicki | Fargo, N.D.
They’re at it again. The North Dakota political establishment and good old boys network are once more trying to rig the system to hamstring the citizen-powered initiated measure process.
Now, big bankers and wealthy business owners who are close to the fossil fuels industry are creating a campaign to increase voter thresholds and make your vote less effective. Their slick campaign is dubbed “Protect North Dakota’s Constitution.” However, don’t let that name fool you. They’re out to protect themselves.
Here’s what they’re up to … instead of the current method of 50% plus 1 to win at the ballot box, they want to raise it to a 60% threshold to pass people-powered constitutional initiated measures. It’s a power grab by Big Business. This measure’s sponsoring committee is full of wealthy elites, and they think they know better than the ordinary citizens in North Dakota! What are they so afraid of?
This legislative session, the legislative establishment tried to pass similar measures. Thankfully, those bills were defeated. But, is it a coincidence that we’re now seeing those efforts brought back by a different group?
ADVERTISEMENT
And, in the 2020 general election, North Dakota voters overwhelmingly defeated an initiative by the Legislature that would have made the Legislature the ultimate authority to approve constitutional initiated measures. It was a government power grab.
As you can tell, this is a pattern by the establishment and good old boys network in North Dakota to rig the system and hamstring the effectiveness of your vote. They’re constantly trying to place large roadblocks in front of North Dakota voters.
