North Dakota Marriage Amendment (2004)

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The North Dakota Defining Marriage Amendment was on the November 2004 ballot in North Dakota as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved.

Election results

North Dakota Amendment 1 (2004)
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		223,572	73.23%
No		81,716	26.77%

Election Results via: North Dakota Secretary of State

Ballot impact

The ballot stated marriage consists only of the legal union between a man and a woman. No other domestic union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect.

Supporters

Christina Rondeau, director of the North Dakota Family Alliance, which coordinated an initiative campaign to get the measure on the ballot, said she was not surprised by the ease with which it passed.

"It just keeps being evident to me that this really is the people's issue," she said. "We've taken a lot of the credit and a lot of the heat for being the organization that has kind of taken the lead on this issue, (but) there's no denying the fact that the citizens of North Dakota ... made it clear they wanted it on the ballot and then came out in support of it."

Opponents

Equality North Dakota chairman Robert Uebel, a spokesman for gay and lesbian rights, said he was disappointed with the vote but considered it just the beginning of the battle. He predicted the law eventually will go the way of others, such as those that once barred women and blacks from voting.

"This is really the first time in North Dakota that our issues have been center stage," Uebel said. "When you're talking about discussion on a statewide level, it has just begun in this state.

"Our organization is stronger, our community is stronger as a result of this campaign," he said.

Uebel said the issue "goes well beyond just simply defining marriage" and also could affect such things as domestic partnership benefits.

Financing the campaign

Only $8,974 was spent on the campaign, all from the "no" side.

Some of the donors to the anti-campaign were:

• North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, $2,000.

External links

• The DS View: More to the story
• Letter Opinion
• Equality North Dakota - Amendment will not protect marriage
• Equality North Dakota - Forum polls show strong opposition to Measure No. 1
• Secretary of State election information