Vote YES on Measure 1!

As you probably know by now, Measure 1 would change how North Dakotans approve amendments to our state’s Constitution. The current threshold for changing our state Constitution is 50% (i.e., a simple majority); Measure 1 would change that to 60%.

The other thing you’ve probably noticed? Wow, this measure is getting a lot of attention. From local radio shows, to yard signs, to expensive TV ads. While Measure 1 is just one of the two measures on the November ballot, those on both sides of the issue clearly consider it to be of critical importance.  Why? Buckle up, here comes a discussion of bills (and constitutions) that explains a bit more than the Schoolhouse Rock video we all watched on Saturday mornings in our PJs. (To be fair, I loved that video, and thanks to me, you now have “I'm just a bill. Yes, I'm only a bill. And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill.” in your head. You’re welcome.)

Why does it matter?

Measure 1 is basically about the role of government. The most important roles of a democracy are written into its Constitution. For example, the US Constitution enumerates the founding principles our government stands for and broadly describes how our government is intended to function (e.g., rights of citizens, balance of power among 3 branches of government, state rights). Similarly, state constitutions such as ours are intended to serve the same purposes, albeit on a smaller scale.

But it doesn’t end there. While you and I have our ND Constitution, we also have statutes. Laws for ND are enacted by our state legislature and deal with ongoing, day-to-day governance of our state. Their foundation is our state Constitution, but the laws help interpret and apply those principles to everyday life here in ND. As a result, one would reasonably expect that our Constitution would remain relatively unchanged, while our state laws would change far more easily.

So, do our ND laws and Constitution function as intended? In the former case, yes; not so much in the latter case. We have amended our ND Constitution 168 times in the past 137 years. To provide some perspective, the US Constitution, which is the blueprint for our state Constitution, has only been amended 27 times in 237 years. Looking at it another way, if we amended the US Constitution at the rate we have amended our ND Constitution, we would have almost 300 amendments to our US Constitution. Something’s clearly not working correctly.

Think of it this way. You hire a contractor to remodel your kitchen, so you sign a contract to that effect – a binding agreement of the basic work to be done. Now suppose he gets started and finds that he needs to replace some faulty wiring – a specific piece of work under the umbrella of that contract. It’s not a lot of effort, but it will still increase the cost of the project a bit. Do you rewrite the contract? No, you give him authorization to do the work and move on with the project. The contract was never intended to list all the specific possible situations that might arise – you would have to add issue after issue to try and cover them as they came up. The problem is that’s what we’re doing to our ND Constitution – putting lots of specific issues into it as amendments, when these issues should be dealt with as laws.

Incorrect Perceptions of Measure 1

I spoke with someone recently who was concerned that Measure 1 would eliminate the checks and balances in our state government. I would make the case that they already exist: you have a chance to vote legislators into or out of office, the ND Supreme Court takes up issues and interprets them in the context of our state Constitution, term limits have been enacted, and there are other types of ballot measures which can be used to enact changes here in ND. Should there be more checks and balances? You can make a case either way, but the point is that the mechanisms already exist, so constantly changing our Constitution is not the answer.

While ballot measures certainly serve a purpose, they also have an inherent problem – out-of-state money talks. This has certainly been the case with past ND ballot measures, and the same holds true with Measure 1. Out-of-state organizations pour millions of dollars into North Dakota to “buy” public opinion.

One of the largest sources of funding against Measure 1 so far is The Fairness Project. Nice name; bad intent. To date, they have spent over $1.1 million in our state to influence your vote against Measure 1. Why would they do that? Because they have a long-term plan. You see, outside organizations like this are very strategic and set states up so that successive amendments are easy wins. And what is their agenda in doing this? For The Fairness Project, I think their organizational goals spell it out pretty clearly: “protect abortion access, raise wages, stop predatory lenders, expand Medicaid, secure paid leave, and other life-changing policies.”  There it is, right at the beginning of the list: abortion. Here is an actual example of how it unfortunately works.

A Tale of Two States

In 2023, Ohio had a ballot measure that would raise its constitutional amendment threshold from 50% to 60%, precisely what Measure 1 seeks to do here. What happened? Big money flowed into the state, the measure was defeated, and the threshold stayed at 50%. Shortly thereafter, an amendment was put on the ballot to write abortion into their Constitution as a protected activity. That amendment passed, based upon a 57% winning vote (i.e., more than the 50% threshold). Today, Ohio’s Constitution permanently allows abortion, and no laws they have already passed or will likely pass in the future can change this.

By contrast, Florida was also assailed by similar out-of-state interests in 2024 to write abortion into their Constitution; however, their story turned out very differently. Back in 2006, Florida increased its constitutional amendment threshold to 60%. As a result, the ballot measure to embed abortion into their Constitution was defeated, despite having the exact same voting results as Ohio (57% approving of abortion being written into their Constitution).

Unfortunately, getting abortion written into state constitutions is their new game plan. In addition to Ohio, 9 other states so far have already explicitly enshrined abortion rights in their state constitutions through ballot measures. Are you starting to see why this matters for your and my values? Do we really want North Dakota to be number 11?

What will happen if Measure 1 is defeated?

The answer to this question is simple. North Dakota will continue to randomly amend its Constitution, inconsistent with its purpose. It will: encourage bad public policy (e.g., abortion, transgender values, euthanasia), result in values you and I don’t support being embedded in the “concrete” of our Constitution, and ensure that big out-of-state money will drive the direction of North Dakota. It’s not a pretty picture.

What should you do?

Vote! Please vote to approve Measure 1. There are so many good reasons it needs to be in place. You trust our organization to tell you which political issues will protect or undermine our shared values. Well, we’re telling you that it’s critical to vote “yes” on Measure 1 if you want to defend pro-life and pro-family values in ND.

Spread the news! Tell friends and family what’s at stake with this vote. It’s not just some obscure political policy issue, but it actually means disassembling the very laws we have fought for all these decades.

A lot hangs in the balance with Measure 1. Are North Dakotans going to retain the ability to shape their state according to their values, or according to someone else’s values? Are we going to be a California with 525 constitutional amendments? Let’s make sure nobody California’s our North Dakota!