Primary ballot measure is good for North Dakota

There is a single measure on North Dakota’s primary election ballot this year and its approval would be good for the state. 

Simply stated, it would ensure that any measure proposed to change the state’s Constitution, whether brought forward by the people or their elected representatives in the Legislature, must be limited to a single subject.

This is particularly important, because all most voters will see, when a change to our laws or constitution are on the ballot, is a summary placed there by the Secretary of State. In this case, the measure is simple and brief and the synopsis effectively captures the gist of the proposal. 

That, however, is not always the case.

Many complex measures have been cynically proposed by special interest groups in recent years. Many of them have appeared to purposely hide their true intent and have masked it in sugar coated language which both obscure that intent and deceptively make the proposal sound innocuous. That’s dangerous. 

A good idea, plain and simple

That’s why this ballot proposal makes so much sense. It seeks to ensure that measures will be straight forward so voters are presented with facts and full disclosure about a single proposal, not someone’s complex wish list or a hidden agenda.

There has been a bit of confusion about the measure, in public discourse. One opinion expressed that it didn’t apply equally to measures proposed by the Legislature and those proposed by the public. That’s incorrect. Clearly, it applies equally to both.

The ballot measure makes sense because it ensures that measures will not be voluminous and multifaceted, but simple and straightforward — easily explained and understood. North Dakota voters deserve no less.

When undertaking an effort as critical as amending our Constitution, that’s something all North Dakotans should support.