Backers of property tax, election reform measures shooting for November ballot

BISMARCK — Only one statewide measure has a chance to be on the June 11 ballot in North Dakota but supporters of two others — one on property tax reform and another on election reform — are working toward being on the November ballot.

A committee behind a proposed measure that will put an age limit on members of Congress from North Dakota was the only one to meet a Monday deadline to get on the June ballot. The Secretary of State’s Office has 35 days to review the signatures and determine if there are enough valid signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

Both of the other petitions that are still circulating need 31,164 verified signatures.

Backers of the property tax reform measure, which bans taxes based on the assessed value of a property, have a deadline of June 29.

The election reform measure, which requires using paper ballots to be hand counted, has a deadline of July 8.

Lydia Gessele is the chair of the sponsoring committee of the Election Integrity Act.

The measure would make several significant changes to North Dakota elections, including:

• No early voting or voting by mail, except for absentee ballots.
• All precincts would need to be open on Election Day.
• It would become more difficult for the Legislature to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Each house would have to approve the amendment with a two-thirds majority vote instead of a simple majority.

Gessele told the North Dakota Monitor the sponsoring committee has collected about 8,700 signatures. She said the figure is likely higher because the petitions being mailed in by those collecting signatures have sometimes taken a week to arrive.

The group also has held two classes on how a hand-counted paper-ballot election would work.

Gessele said they have been working with people from counties in Missouri that have held votes using paper ballots. She said another class is planned for Bismarck in March. People interested in the class can email Gessele at Lydiar.gessele@protonmail.com.

Barb Headrick, president of the North Dakota League of Women Voters, said the group has not taken an official position on the proposed measure but said elections workers in the state have kept elections fair.

“We have no major concerns about integrity issues,” Headrick said.

Former legislator Rick Becker is leading the sponsoring committee called End Unfair Property Tax.

He said the group was nearing about 20,000 signatures as of Monday.

He said he is encouraged that there has been more debate about the topic recently and said his group would welcome opportunities to explain the thinking behind the reforms.

“I think we’re getting a little bit more dialogue going with the opposition,” Becker said.

Petitions on the measure that would set an age limit of 80 on North Dakota’s congressional delegation were delivered to the Secretary of State’s Office on Friday.

Voters will see at least three measures on the November ballot: One would remove some outdated language about state institutions; another would make some changes to how citizen-initiated measures get on the ballot; and a third would make changes to how Legacy Fund money can be spent. Those measures originated in the Legislature.

This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com