Armstrong to sign ban on approval voting

Fargo became the first city in North Dakota to adopt so-called approval voting for local elections in 2018, and the way things look now, it will be the last. North Dakota lawmakers have overwhelmingly passed legislation banning approval voting and another alternative electoral system called ranked-choice voting in an effort to standardize and streamline the process statewide.

Unlike his predecessor, who vetoed a similar ban in 2023, Gov. Kelly Armstrong told WDAY he fully backs the measure to prevent local governments from implementing approval and other alternative voting methods.

North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong says he will sign a bill passed by the legislature banning approval voting and ranked-choice voting in the state.

Fargo is the only city in North Dakota that uses approval voting which allows people to vote for as many candidates as they want. Approval voting began in the city in 2018.

“This doesn’t work if every municipality in every community all across the state decides to do things their own way. The more consistency you have, the more reliability you have,” Armstrong said on The Jay Thomas Show.

Fargo has relied on approval voting in three local election cycles since residents enthusiastically okayed a ballot question to adopt the system. Local officials touted the process, as well as well as local governments’ right to implement it, Inforum noted, if supported by constituents.

“The advantage of approval voting is that it encourages individuals to run for office,” Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo, said. “This methodology has worked very effectively for our community.”

During Tuesday’s debate, Sen. Ryan Braunberger, D-Fargo, attempted to alter the bill through a floor amendment that would have grandfathered in Fargo’s approval voting process. The amendment failed.

“I agree that we need to make sure that we have elections that are fair and balanced,” Braunberger said. “But I also believe that we should listen to our citizens and our localities.”

Approval voting may have been popular in Fargo, but not with the vast majority of lawmakers who believe alternative methods can be bewildering, less transparent to the public and lead to delays in determining results.

Sen. Jose Castaneda, R-Minot, said the legislation is “proactive.”

“In this era, where we’re trying to build more trust in our election system, we simply cannot afford to have any complications or delays in any election,” he said.

Other lawmakers in support of the bill said approval voting is confusing.

The North Dakota ban on alternative electoral methods follows the rejection of ranked-choice voting by five states in the 2024 election.