North Dakota State Auditor Referendum (2020)

North Dakota State Auditor Referendum
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Administration of government and State and local government budgets, spending and finance
Status Not on the ballot
Type Referendum	Origin Citizens

A referendum on Section 3 of Senate Bill 2004 was not on the ballot in North Dakota as a veto referendum on November 3, 2020.

Measure design

This referendum would have required Section 3 of Senate Bill 2004, which was approved by the legislature and signed by the governor on May 2, 2019, to instead be placed on the 2020 ballot in North Dakota for a statewide vote of the people for their approval or rejection.

Section 3 of SB 2004 concerns the powers and duties of the state auditor and provides funding guidelines for agencies when paying for audits.

Text of measure

Ballot title

Ballot title

“ This referendum seeks to reject section three of Senate Bill 2004 passed by the 2019 Legislative Assembly. This section relates to the powers and duties of the state auditor and provides that the state auditor may not contract to do work required by the federal government without the prior approval of the legislative audit and fiscal review committee and may not conduct agency performance audits unless determined necessary by the legislative assembly or approved by the legislative audit and fiscal review committee. Additionally, this section provides funding guidelines to pay for audits. ”

Full text

• The full text of the referendum petition is available here.

• The full text of Senate Bill 2004 is available here.

Background

See also: Veto referendums in North Dakota

In North Dakota, bills passed by the state legislature can be put before voters through a veto referendum petition.

• Signature requirement: 2 percent of the state population at last decennial census
• Result of a yes vote: targeted law upheld
• Result of a no vote: targeted law repealed
• Successful veto referendum petitions suspend the targeted law until the election.

From 1916 to 2016, 75 veto referendums have appeared on the ballot in North Dakota. Of the 75 referendum measures, 62.67% (47 of 75) resulted in the targeted law being repealed or rejected by voters. The targeted law was upheld in 37.33% (28 of 75) of cases.

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 a veto referendum for the ballot is equal to 2 percent of the population of the state. Signatures for veto referendums must be submitted 90 days after the bill targeted for repeal is signed into law.

The requirements to get a veto referendum certified for the 2020 ballot:

• Signatures required: 13,452 valid signatures
• Submission deadline: 90 days after the targeted legislation is signed into law

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.

Since the governor signed SB 2004 on May 2, 2019, signatures for the referendum were due 90 days later on July 31, 2019.

Details about this initiative

• Riley Kuntz of Dickinson, North Dakota, is the chairperson of the referendum's sponsoring committee.
• The sponsor did not submit the required signatures by the deadline.

See also

2020 measures

• 2020 ballot measures
• Administration of government on the ballot
• State and local government budgets, spending and finance on the ballot
• 2020 petition deadlines

North Dakota

• North Dakota ballot measures
• North Dakota initiative laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls
• Ballot measure signature costs

External links

• Senate Bill 2004 full text
• Referendum petition on Senate Bill 2004
• Senate Bill 2004 information
• North Dakota Secretary of State: Ballot Petitions Being Circulated