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North Dakota Measure 2, Citizen Requirement for Voting Amendment Initiative (2018)

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North Dakota Measure 2
Flag of North Dakota.png
Election date
November 6, 2018
Topic
Suffrage
Status
Approveda Approved
Type
Constitutional amendment
Origin
Citizens


North Dakota Measure 2, the Citizen Requirement for Voting Amendment Initiative, was on the ballot in North Dakota as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending the North Dakota Constitution to state that “only a citizen” of the U.S. can vote in federal, state, and local elections.
A "no" vote opposed amending the North Dakota Constitution, thus keeping the existing language that says “every citizen” of the U.S. can vote.

Election results

North Dakota Measure 2

Result Votes Percentage

Approved Yes

208,499 65.93%
No 107,751 34.07%
Results are officially certified.
Source

Overview

Measure design

Measure 2 amended the North Dakota Constitution to state that only citizens of the United States can vote in federal, state, and local elections and on state or local ballot measures. The ballot initiative replaced the existing language of "Every citizen of the United States... shall be a qualified elector" with "Only a citizen of the United States... shall be a qualified elector."[1][2][3]

Non-citizen voting in the U.S.

As of 2018, neither North Dakota nor any of the state's local jurisdictions allowed non-citizens to vote in elections. Therefore, according to Secretary of State Al Jaeger (R), "[Measure 2] does not change the current election administrative procedures in state law."[4] In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed a law prohibiting non-citizens from voting in federal elections, such as U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and presidential elections.[5] Federal law did not address state or local elections. San Fransisco and several local governments in Maryland had passed laws to expand voting to non-citizens for certain local elections.[6][7]

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Measure 2 was as follows:[8]

This initiated measure would amend Article II of the North Dakota Constitution to state that “only a citizen” of the United States is a qualified elector, instead of the current provision that states “every citizen” of the United States is a qualified elector. The measure also would state that only a qualified elector may vote in any general, special, or primary election for a federal, statewide, state legislative, district, county, township, city, or school district office or ballot measure.[9]

Constitutional changes

See also: Article II, North Dakota Constitution

Measure 2 amended section 1 of Article 11 of the state constitution. The following underlined text was added, and struck-through text was deleted:[1]

ARTICLE II. ELECTIVE FRANCHISE. Section 1. The general election of the state shall be held biennially as provided by law.

Every Only a citizen of the United States, who has attained the age of eighteen years and who is a North Dakota resident, shall be a qualified elector. When an elector moves within the state, he shall be entitled to vote in the precinct from which he moves until he establishes voting residence in another precinct. The legislative assembly shall provide by law for the determination of residence for voting eligibility, other than physical presence. No elector shall lose his residency for voting eligibility solely by reason of his absence from the state.

The legislative assembly shall provide by law for secrecy in voting, for absentee voting, for administration of elections and for the nomination of candidates.

Section 2. No person who has been declared mentally incompetent by order of a court or other authority having jurisdiction, which order has not been rescinded, shall be qualified to vote. No person convicted of a felony shall be qualified to vote until his or her civil rights are restored.

Section 3. Only a qualified elector may vote in any general, special, or primary election for a federal, statewide, state legislative, district, county, township, city, or school district office, or for a statewide, district, or political subdivision ballot measure. [9]

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2018
Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The North Dakota Secretary of State wrote the ballot language for this measure.


The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 21, and the FRE is 15. The word count for the ballot title is 79, and the estimated reading time is 21 seconds.

In 2018, for the 167 statewide measures on the ballot, the average ballot title or question was written at a level appropriate for those with between 19 and 20 years of U.S. formal education (graduate school-level of education), according to the FKGL formula. Read Ballotpedia's entire 2018 ballot language readability report here.

Support

North Dakotans for Citizen Voting led the campaign in support of Measure 2.

Supporters

Candidate for District 35 of the North Dakota State Senate Gary Emineth (R), submitted this initiative. Emineth also serves as chairman of North Dakotans for Citizen Voting.[10][11][12]

Officials

Arguments

  • North Dakotans for Citizen Voting featured the following arguments on its website:[14]
Currently the constitution doesn't state that only U.S. citizens can vote - it says that U.S. citizens are eligible to vote. This measure clarifies it. There have been a few cases around the state where county auditors sought clarification. Non-citizens are already voting in Chicago, San Francisco and in 11 cities in Maryland. Voting is the fundamental and exclusive right of U.S. citizens. We welcome many people who choose to live temporarily or even permanently in North Dakota, or elsewhere in the United States. But if they want to vote in our elections, they should make the decision to become a U.S. citizen and go through that process. This initiative doesn’t deal with immigration or the problem of voter fraud. Our goal is simple and straightforward: make voting the exclusive right of U.S. citizens. People who support voting as the basic, fundamental right of U.S. citizens will support this ballot measure, and those who want non-citizens to vote will oppose it.[9]
  • Gary Emineth argued on Facebook that "The word 'every' is non-exclusive ... we are changing it to 'only' ... because we have people like this that think our voting laws leave a window of opportunity to be exploited and flipped to a liberal thinking state."[15]

Opposition

Arguments

  • Steven Morrison, a law professor at the University of North Dakota, said, “Practically speaking, I don’t see how this would change anything. The question is do you have non-residents, non-citizens voting now?”[12]

Media editorials

See also: 2018 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

Ballotpedia did not identify any media editorials in support of Measure 2. If you are aware of one, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Opposition

  • Inforum said: "Measure 2 is a silly idea, utterly lacking in merit. It seeks to amend the North Dakota Constitution to specify that "only a citizen" of the United States is a qualified voter. In fact, the North Dakota Constitution already defines a voter as a U.S. citizen. Nothing ambiguous about it. There's no need to clutter the constitution with unneeded verbiage. Vote no on Measure 2."[16]

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for North Dakota ballot measures

Ballotpedia identified one committee registered in support of the measure: North Dakotans for Citizen Voting. The committee had raised $303,357.00 and had spent all of the contributions. The top donors to the campaign were the Liberty Initiative Fund ($259,607) and Gary Emineth ($43,750).[17]

Ballotpedia had not identified any committees registered in opposition to the measure.[17]

Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Support $254,357.00 $49,000.00 $303,357.00 $254,357.00 $303,357.00
Oppose $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Total $254,357.00 $49,000.00 $303,357.00 $254,357.00 $303,357.00

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the measure.[17]

Committees in support of Measure 2
Committee Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
North Dakotans for Citizen Voting $254,357.00 $49,000.00 $303,357.00 $254,357.00 $303,357.00
Total $254,357.00 $49,000.00 $303,357.00 $254,357.00 $303,357.00

Donors

The following were the top donors to the committee.[17]

Donor Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions
Liberty Initiative Fund $210,607.00 $49,000.00 $259,607.00
Gary Emineth $43,750.00 $0.00 $43,750.00

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls and 2018 ballot measure polls

Below are poll results for the measure:

North Dakota Measure 2
Poll Support OpposeUndecidedMargin of errorSample size
KFYR, KVLY, and Strategic Research Associates poll
10/12/18 - 10/19/18
72%20%8%+/-3.8650
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.


Background

Voting in North Dakota

See also: Voting in North Dakota
THE BASICS
  • North Dakota permits early voting and no-excuse absentee voting.
  • North Dakota is the only state in which there is no formal voter registration system.
  • North Dakota voters are required to provide some form of identification at the polls.
  • DocumentIcon.jpg See state election laws

    Voter registration

    North Dakota is the only state without a formal voter registration procedure.[18]

    Although North Dakota was one of the first states to adopt voter registration prior to the turn of the century, it abolished it in 1951. It is also worth noting that North Dakota law still provides cities with the ability to register voters for city elections.

    North Dakota is a rural state and its communities maintain close ties and networks. North Dakota's system of voting and lack of voter registration is rooted in its rural character by providing small precincts. Establishing relatively small precincts is intended to ensure that election boards know the voters who come to the polls to vote on Election Day and can easily detect those who should not be voting in the precinct.[18][9]

    —North Dakota Secretary of State

    Election policy on the ballot in 2018



    Election Policy Logo.png

    Electoral system
    Electoral systems by state
    Ranked-choice voting (RCV)
    Academic studies on RCV
    Election dates
    Election agencies
    Election terms

    Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker

    Public Policy Logo-one line.png

    Voters considered ballot measures addressing election policy in 15 states in 2018.

    Redistricting:

    See also: Redistricting measures on the ballot
    • Missouri Amendment 1, Lobbying, Campaign Finance, and Redistricting Initiative (2018) Approveda - The PAC Clean Missouri collected signatures to get the initiated amendment on the ballot. The measure made changes to the state's lobbying laws, campaign finance limits for state legislative candidates, and legislative redistricting process. The position of nonpartisan state demographer was created. Amendment 1 made the demographer responsible for drawing legislative redistricting maps and presenting them to the House and Senate apportionment commissions.

    Voting requirements and ballot access:

    • Florida Amendment 4, Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative (2018) Approveda - The committee Floridians for a Fair Democracy collected more than the required 766,200 signatures to get Amendment 4 placed on the ballot. The measure was designed to automatically restore the right to vote for people with prior felony convictions, except those convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense, upon completion of their sentences, including prison, parole, and probation. It was approved.
    • North Carolina Voter ID Amendment (2018) Approveda - This amendment was referred to the ballot by the state legislature along party lines with Republicans voting in favor of it and Democrats voting against it. It created a constitutional requirement that voters present a photo ID to vote in person. It was approved.

    Arkansas Issue 3, a legislative term limits initiative, was certified for the ballot but was blocked by an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling. The measure would have imposed term limits of six years for members of the Arkansas House of Representatives and eight years for members of the Arkansas Senate. The ruling came too late to remove the measure from the ballot, but the supreme court ordered election officials to not count or certify votes for Issue 3.

    Campaign finance, political spending, and ethics:

    • Colorado Amendment 75, Campaign Contribution Limits Initiative (2018) Defeatedd - Proponents collected more than the required 136,328 valid signatures and met the state's distribution requirement to qualify this initiative for the ballot. The measure would have established that if any candidate for state office directs (by loan or contribution) more than one million dollars in support of his or her own campaign, then every candidate for the same office in the same primary or general election may accept five times the aggregate amount of campaign contributions normally allowed. It was defeated.


    Election policy ballot measures

    See also: Elections and campaigns on the ballot and List of North Dakota ballot measures

    Ballotpedia has tracked the following ballot measures relating to election and campaign policy in North Dakota.

    1. North Dakota Election of County Officers, Constitutional Measure 1 (2002)
    2. North Dakota Executive Branch Officer Election, Measure 2 (2000)
    3. North Dakota State Treasurer Not Elected, Measure 3 (2000)
    4. North Dakota Legislative Assembly Vacancy Filling, Measure 4 (2000)
    5. North Dakota Filling of Judicial Vacancies, Measure 1 (1998)
    6. North Dakota Election of County Officials, Measure 2 (1998)
    7. North Dakota State Legislative Term Limits and Ballot Instruction Measure, Measure 5 (1996)
    8. North Dakota Partisan Elections Initiative (1921)
    9. North Dakota Non-partisan Election Initiative (1921)
    10. North Dakota Federal Funds for Political Purposes Initiative (1936)
    11. North Dakota Tax Commissioner Election Initiative (1938)
    12. North Dakota Secret Primary Ballot, Initiative 3 (1962)
    13. North Dakota County Official Term Lengths, Initiative 2 (1962)
    14. North Dakota State and County Official Term Lengths, Initiative 5 (1964)
    15. North Dakota Rules for Appointing Supreme Court Justices, Measure 2 (1990)
    16. North Dakota Residence Requirements of Electors Referendum (1920)
    17. North Dakota Electors Residence Requirements Referendum (1922)
    18. North Dakota Nonpartisan Elections Referendum (1924)
    19. North Dakota Date of Presidential Primary Election Referendum (1924)
    20. North Dakota Party Central Committees Referendum (1924)
    21. North Dakota County Officers to be Elected Referendum, Amendment 1 (1952)
    22. North Dakota Repeal Limits on Legislator Elections and Appointments, Referendum 3 (1962)
    23. North Dakota Repeal Limits on Legislator Elections and Appointments, Referendum 2 (1964)
    24. North Dakota Voter Pamphlet, Referendum 1 (1964)
    25. North Dakota New Residents Presidential Voting Referendum, Number 2 (1966)
    26. North Dakota Judicial Reform Referendum, Number 5 (1968)
    27. North Dakota Joint Governor and Lieutenant Ballot Referendum, Amendment 1 (1974)
    28. North Dakota Legislator Qualifications Referendum, Amendment 1 (1976)
    29. North Dakota Elective Franchise Referendum, Amendment 2 (1978)
    30. North Dakota Judicial Officers Referendum, Amendment 5 (1980)
    31. North Dakota Presidential Preference and June Primary Referendum, Measure 7 (1980)
    32. North Dakota Election Law Revision Referendum, Measure 8 (1980)
    33. North Dakota Future Governor and Lieutenant Governor Elections Referendum, Measure 4 (1982)
    34. North Dakota Tax Commissioner on Party Ballot Referendum, Measure 2 (1986)
    35. North Dakota Measure 1, Ethics Commission, Foreign Political Contribution Ban, and Conflicts of Interest Initiative (2018)
    36. North Dakota Initiated Measure 1, Congressional Age Limits Initiative (June 2024)

    Path to the ballot

    See also: Laws governing the initiative process in North Dakota

    The state process

    In North Dakota, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 4 percent of the population of the state. North Dakota is unique in using the population to determine signature requirements for initiatives and referendums. Petitioners may circulate a petition for one year following the secretary of state's initial approval. The signatures must be submitted at least 120 days prior to the election.

    The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2018 ballot:

    Once the signatures have been gathered, the secretary of state verifies them using a random sample method. Since North Dakota does not have a voter registration system, the secretary of state may use "questionnaires, postcards, telephone calls, personal interviews, or other accepted information-gathering techniques" to verify the selected signatures.

    Cost of signature collection:
    Sponsors of the measure hired Advanced Micro Targeting to collect signatures for the petition to qualify this measure for the ballot. A total of $248,857.00 was spent to collect the 26,904 valid signatures required to put this measure before voters, resulting in a total cost per required signature (CPRS) of $9.25.

    Details about this initiative

    • The measure was submitted to the secretary of state on May 14, 2018. It was approved for signature gathering on May 23, 2018.[2]
    • On July 6, 2018, proponents of the measure reported submitting around 35,000 signatures to the secretary of state's office. To qualify for the November 2018 ballot, 26,904 valid signatures were required.[19]
    • On August 10, 2018, North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger announced that the measure had qualified for the ballot. Proponents submitted 32,000 valid signatures. A total of 26,904 were required to qualify.[3]

    How to cast a vote

    See also: Voting in North Dakota

    Poll times

    In North Dakota, voting hours at polling locations vary by county. According to statute, all polls must open between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. local time, and they must close between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. North Dakota is divided between the Central and Mountain time zones. Hours for specific polling places are available online through the state's Polling Place Search. A voter who is standing in line at the time the polls close will be allowed to vote.[20][21]

    Registration requirements

    Check your voter information here.

    North Dakota is the only state that does not require voter registration.[22][23]

    Although North Dakota was one of the first states to adopt voter registration prior to the turn of the century, it abolished it in 1951. It is also worth noting that North Dakota law still provides cities with the ability to register voters for city elections.


    North Dakota is a rural state and its communities maintain close ties and networks. North Dakota's system of voting, and lack of voter registration, is rooted in its rural character by providing small precincts. Establishing relatively small precincts is intended to ensure that election boards know the voters who come to the polls to vote on Election Day and can easily detect those who should not be voting in the precinct.[22][9]

    —North Dakota Secretary of State

    Voter ID requirements

    North Dakota requires voters to present identification while voting. Identification must include the voter’s name, current North Dakota residential address, and date of birth.[24]

    Acceptable forms of voter identification include:

    • Driver’s license
    • Nondriver’s identification card
    • Tribal government-issued identification (including those issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for a tribe located in North Dakota, any other tribal agency or entity, or any other document that sets forth the tribal member’s name, date of birth, and current North Dakota residential address)
    • Long-term care identification certificate (provided by North Dakota facility)

    If a voter does not have a form of identification that includes his or her current North Dakota residential address or date of birth, the voter can present the following supplemental documents:

    • Current utility bill
    • Current bank statement
    • Check or a document issued by a federal, state, local, or tribal government (including those issued by BIA for a tribe located in North Dakota, any other tribal agency or entity, or any other document that sets forth the tribal member’s name, date of birth, and current North Dakota residential address)
    • Paycheck
    • Student photo ID card from a North Dakota institution containing the student's photograph and legal name. A printed document on school letterhead containing the student’s name, address, and date of birth must also be presented.
    • North Dakota residents living outside of the United States can submit a U.S. Passport or Military ID if they do not have another valid form of identification.

    According to the secretary of state's office, "An applicant without an acceptable form of identification may use an attester. The attester must provide his or her name, North Dakota driver’s license, nondriver’s, or tribal identification number, and sign the absentee/mail ballot application form to attest to the applicant’s North Dakota residency and voting eligibility."[24]

    Voters who cast absentee/mail-in ballot must include a valid form of identification with their ballot. A voter who has a disability that prevents them from leaving his or her home and is unable to obtain a valid form of identification "must provide his or her name, North Dakota driver’s license, nondriver’s, or tribal identification number, and sign the absentee/mail ballot application form to attest to the applicant’s North Dakota residency and voting eligibility."[24]

    See also

    External links

    Support

    Opposition

    If you know of any links to opponents' websites or social media accounts, let us know by sending an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

    Footnotes

    1. 1.0 1.1 North Dakota Secretary of State, "Qualified Elector Petition, Full Text," accessed May 24, 2018
    2. 2.0 2.1 North Dakota Secretary of State, "Time Line for Constitutional Initiative Relating to the elections in which a qualified elector may vote," accessed May 24, 2018
    3. 3.0 3.1 Washington Times, "North Dakota measure barring noncitizen voting makes ballot," accessed August 10, 2018
    4. Grand Forks Herald, "North Dakota's Measure 2 emphasizes that 'only a citizen' of the U.S. is a qualified elector in ND," October 23, 2018
    5. Cornell Law School, "18 U.S. Code § 611 - Voting by aliens," accessed November 1, 2018
    6. NBC News, "House GOP passes measure blasting allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections," September 26, 2018
    7. CNN, "Noncitizens in San Francisco can register to vote, but only for school board elections," July 20, 2018
    8. North Dakota Secretary of State, "Official ballot language for measures appearing on the election ballot," accessed October 14, 2018
    9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content
    10. InForum, "Proposed ND ballot measure to prevent noncitizen voting moves forward," accessed May 24, 2018
    11. AP News, "Measure Barring Noncitizen Voting Approved for Circulation," accessed May 24, 2018
    12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Bismarck Tribune, "Change or distraction? Petition seeks to rewrite constitutional language on who can vote," accessed June 19, 2018
    13. 13.0 13.1 U.S. News, "The Latest: ND Senate Hopefuls Agree on Pot, Voting Ban," October 31, 2018
    14. North Dakotans for Citizen Voting, "Q&A," accessed August 23, 2018
    15. Facebook, "Gary Emineth August 10 at 2:26 PM Facebook post," accessed August 23, 2018
    16. Inforum, "Editorial: Vote no on ND Measure 1, 2, 3; yes on Measure 4," accessed October 18, 2018
    17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 North Dakota Secretary of State, "Committee Search," accessed June 24, 2018
    18. 18.0 18.1 North Dakota Secretary of State, "North Dakota ... The Only State Without Voter Registration," accessed June 10, 2014
    19. Rapid City Journal, "North Dakota measure would bar noncitizen voting," accessed July 9, 2018
    20. North Dakota Secretary of State, "Q: What are voting hours in North Dakota?" accessed August 12, 2024
    21. Justia, "2023 North Dakota Century Code, 16.1-01-03. Opening and closing of the polls," accessed August 14, 2024
    22. 22.0 22.1 North Dakota Secretary of State, “North Dakota….The Only State Without Voter Registration,” accessed April 24, 2023
    23. North Dakota Secretary of State, “Voter Registration in North Dakota,” accessed August 12, 2024
    24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 North Dakota Secretary of State, "ID Requirements for Voting," accessed August 12, 2024