North Dakota Public Records of Legislators' Communications Referendum (2020)

North Dakota Public Records of Legislators' Communications Referendum
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic State legislatures measures and Government accountability
Status Not on the ballot
Type Referendum	Origin Citizens

A referendum on Senate Bill 2221 was not on the ballot in North Dakota as a veto referendum on November 3, 2020.

The measure's sponsor did not submit the required number of valid signatures by the deadline.^[1]

Measure design[edit]

This referendum would have required Senate Bill 2221, which was approved by the legislature and signed by the governor on April 24, 2019, to instead be placed on the 2020 ballot in North Dakota for a statewide vote of the people for their approval or rejection.

Senate Bill 2221 was designed to exempt state legislators' communications from public records whether the records are possessed by a legislator or any other public employee.

Text of measure[edit]

Ballot title[edit]

Full text[edit]

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

• The full text of Senate Bill 2221 is available here.

Background[edit]

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• Result of a no vote: targeted law repealed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 Of the 75 referendum measures, 62.67% (47 of 75) resulted in the targeted law being repealed or rejected by voters.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[edit]

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in North Dakota

The state process[edit]

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 2221 on April 24, 2019, signatures for the referendum were due 90 days later on July 23, 2019.

Details about this initiative[edit]

• Riley Kuntz of Dickinson, North Dakota, is the chairperson of the referendum's sponsoring committee.^[3]
• Kuntz did not submit the required number of valid signatures by the deadline.^[4]

See also[edit]

2020 measures 2020 ballot measures State legislatures measures on the ballot Government accountability 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[edit]

• Senate Bill 2221 full text
• Referendum petition on Senate Bill 2221
• Senate Bill 2221 information
• North Dakota Secretary of State: Ballot Petitions Being Circulated

Footnotes[edit]

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