North Dakotans will vote on 5 measures. That's not unheard of.

BISMARCK — North Dakotans may feel like there are a lot of ballot measures to vote on in the general election, but recent history shows that the amount is not out of the ordinary.

The deadline to put measures on the general election ballot was July 8, meaning the ballot is finalized. Voters will decide whether to pass or fail five measures on Nov. 5.

Three are constitutional — put on the ballot by the North Dakota Legislature — while the other two were initiated by citizens. They need 50% plus one vote to pass.

Absentee ballots are available beginning Sept. 26.

The last time North Dakota had this many ballot measures in an election was for the 2016 general election, Secretary of State Michael Howe said. During that election, legislators put two on the ballot, while three came from citizens, he noted.

The most North Dakota has had since the turn of the millennium was 2014 with eight measures, with four each from the Legislature and citizens, Howe said. According to a list showing measures for elections dating back to 1889, the year North Dakota became a state, the most measures residents voted on was in the 1938 primary election with 13 questions.

The most in a general election was 10 in 1918.

It’s unclear why there are so many measures this election, compared to two each in the 2020 and 2022 general elections, Howe said.

“If you’re trying to find a pattern there, there really isn’t one,” he said. “Why are there more questions this time around then, say, the 2022 general election, where there were only two, I don’t know. I don’t have an answer for that.”

Compared to other states, North Dakota has a light ballot for the general election. Colorado voters will have to decide on 14 questions, the most of any state for November. Arizona has 13 measures, California has 10 and New Mexico has eight.

Minnesota has one.

If there is an anomaly in the data, it was 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, when there were only two measures, Howe said. Both questions were from the Legislature.

North Dakotans had two measures in 2022 as well, one each from lawmakers and citizens.

It’s also hard to find a pattern that could conclusively show how the election will turn out with multiple ballots. In 2012, voters approved all but one of the five measures on the ballot. They reversed course in 2014, when they rejected all but one of the eight. In 2016, all but one of the five measures passed.

In 2008, two of the four measures passed.

North Dakotans do their homework and research when it comes to voting on measures, Howe said. They take the time to educate themselves so they know how to vote, he said.

“The citizens of North Dakota take these things seriously,” Howe said.

The Secretary of State’s Office website has the full text of each measure, official ballot language, an analysis of how the question will change North Dakota law and fiscal impacts at

sos.nd.gov/elections/voter/ballot-measures/measures-ballot

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Measure 1:

A Constitutional question that would change outdated terminology that describes public institutions in North Dakota. That would include changing the “school for the deaf and dumb of North Dakota” to the “school for the deaf and hard of hearing,” the “state hospital for the insane” to a “state hospital for the care of individuals with mental illness,” the “institution for the feebleminded” to a “facility for individuals with developmental disabilities,” and the “state hospital for the mentally ill” to a “state hospital for the care of individuals with mental illness.”

Measure 2:

A Constitutional measure that would require initiated measures to be limited to one subject, measure sponsors and petition circulators to be qualified electors and petition signers to provide a complete residential address. The number of signatures needed to get a measure on the ballot would increase to 5% of the state population.

Measure 3:

A Constitutional measure that would decrease the amount of principal that the state could spend from the Legacy fund.

Measure 4:

An initiated measure that would eliminate property taxes.

Measure 5:

An initiated measure that would legalize marijuana use, production and sales by anyone at least 21 years old.