The North Dakota House of Representatives voted on April 10, 2023, to override Gov. Doug Burgum’s (R) veto of HB1273. The bill would ban the use of ranked-choice and approval voting methods in the state. Ranked-choice voting is an electoral system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. Approval voting allows voters to vote for all the candidates the voter approves of, and the candidates receiving the most votes are elected until all necessary seats are filled in the race.
Gov. Burgum vetoed the legislation on April 6, 2023, calling the bill an example of state overreach and saying it “blatantly infringes on local control.” Currently, one municipality in the state, Fargo, utilizes a voting method that the bill would prohibit. North Dakota House Majority Leader Mike Lefor (R) said of the effort to override Gov. Burgum’s veto: “The legislature properly exercised its authority to regulate the way elections are conducted… It’s a matter of statewide concern.”
The state House voted 71-17 to override Burgum’s veto. A two-thirds majority in the state Senate is required to override the veto and enact the legislation. North Dakota is a Republican trifecta, meaning that Republicans control both chambers of the legislature and the governorship. In the state House, Republicans hold 82 of 94 seats, while in the Senate they hold 43 of 47 seats.
