On April 22, the campaign Protect North Dakota’s Constitution reported submitting 33,624 signatures for a ballot initiative to the secretary of state’s office. At least 31,164 of the signatures need to be deemed valid for the initiative to appear on the ballot. The secretary of state has 30 days to issue its determination on whether or not enough valid signatures were submitted.
The initiative would require a three-fifths (60%) supermajority vote to adopt a constitutional amendment. Under the initiative, constitutional amendments would be limited to a single subject. The initiative would apply to constitutional amendments that are placed on the ballot through citizen initiative petitions as well as those referred to the ballot by the state Legislature.
Constitutional amendments require approval by voters in a statewide election to become a part of the state’s constitution except in Delaware. Currently, 38 states require a simple majority vote (50%+1) for a proposed constitutional amendment to be adopted. In 11 states, voters must approve a proposed constitutional amendment by more than a simple majority or by some rule that combines different criteria.
