State Policy · ND
North Dakota Coalition Opposes Ballot Measure Raising Amendment Threshold
A coalition of North Dakota advocacy groups, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, labor unions, and the League of Women Voters, publicly opposed Measure 1 at a Fargo event Tuesday. The measure, placed on the ballot by the Legislature, would require 60% voter approval to pass future constitutional amendments. Opponents argue it would make it harder to advance citizen-led initiatives, including potential future health policy measures, pointing to South Dakota's Medicaid expansion, which passed by ballot measure with 56.2% of the vote after seven failed legislative sessions. Voters decide the measure this November; South Dakota voters face a similar 60% threshold question in the same election cycle.
Why it mattersIf approved, Measure 1 would raise the bar for future citizen-led constitutional ballot initiatives, including any effort to bypass the Legislature on Medicaid expansion or other health policy changes, as South Dakota advocates did successfully under the current simple-majority threshold.