The Secretary of State Al Jaeger notified activists about a change in the number of signatures required to get a measure on the ballot. After the 2020 census, more signatures will be needed to get a measure on North Dakota’s ballot.

After the 2020 census, the population figures for North Dakota made a significant change. Now in order to get measures on the ballot petitioners will need to gather a higher number of signatures.

Census takers counted 779,094 people in North Dakota during last year’s count. During the last headcount in 2010, the number was 672,591. This means North Dakota had close to a 16 percent increase in population. This increase must now be reflected in the signature threshold for getting a measure on the ballot for the next 10 years.

Petitioners promoting a constitutional measure will now need to get 31,164 signatures. This equals about four percent of the state population. This is an increase of more than 4,000 compared to the previous requirement. For those backing a measure to change North Dakota law but not the state’s constitution, they will need 15,582 signatures. This equals about two percent of the state population.

Three Groups Pushing Measures

Currently, two groups are pushing constitutional measures, and Jaeger notified them of the elevated bar on Monday.

One group wants to cement legal recreational-use marijuana in the state’s foundational document. They will have until next January to gather enough signatures. The second organization would like to raise the threshold for amending the constitution. They will have until either February or April to gather enough signatures depending on when they want to get on the ballot.

There is a third group that is expected to pursue marijuana legalization through a statutory ballot measure. But they have yet to file a proposed petition.

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