This November, all North Dakotans, whether they be conservatives, progressives or anything in-between, must vote to keep their rights. The North Dakota Legislature wants to take them away.
Specifically, the Legislature wants to make it extremely difficult for the state’s voters to pass constitutional amendments. So, the lawmakers have put on the ballot, North Dakota Constitutional Measure 1.
This will change the threshold to approve constitutional amendments from 50% plus one vote to a whopping 60%. That’s a very high bar. The majority should rule.
Why, if 59% of North Dakotans vote for something and 41% vote against it, should the side with 41% of the vote be the winners? In any other election, getting 18% more of the vote than the other side is considered a landslide. In North Dakota, if the lawmakers get their way, it will be considered a defeat.
The big picture is, legislators don’t like North Dakotans passing laws. They believe they are the only ones who should decide the laws of this state.
Mind you, it’s not easy for North Dakota citizens to get a constitutional measure on the ballot. They have to work hard to get tens of thousands of signatures to qualify. That takes a lot of work and organization. By obtaining so many signatures, that tells you there’s a lot of interest in a given proposed law.
In fact, this is hardly the first time the lawmakers have tried to make it very difficult for North Dakotans to pass constitutional amendments. Just two years ago, they attempted to get voters to approve a measure that would raise the signature requirement by more than 25% to get a constitutional measure on the ballot. On top of that, they tried to require voters to approve the same measure twice before it would become law.
Fortunately, North Dakota voters saw through this effort to take away their rights and overwhelmingly rejected this idea.
Members of the North Dakota House of Representatives participate in a special session of the Legislature on Jan. 22, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
Six years ago, the legislators tried a different approach with a bogus ballot measure. That one stated that if voters approve a constitutional amendment, then in order for it to become law, either the Legislature would also have to approve it (which was highly unlikely) or the voters would have to approve it again two years later in another election.
Those roadblocks were worse than our summer road construction season. Fortunately, North Dakota voters figured it out, and defeated the Legislature’s scheme by 23%.
You have to hand it to the lawmakers. They never give up in trying to make constitutional amendments virtually impossible to pass.
The lawmakers are clearly motivated by two recent constitutional measures passed by North Dakota voters that they hate. The first, in 2018, was smartly approving an Ethics Commission.
All of a sudden, the legislators had to be ethical. They had to be transparent and accountable. Gone are the free trips, free meals and free gifts that they loved.
The second, in 2022, state voters wisely approved term limits for the lawmakers. Now, there’s an expiration date for the intoxication of power along with their free health insurance (for only working full-time for four months over two years), and other perks.
Some lawmakers argue that Measure 1 is needed because out of state money helped fund the Ethics Commission and term limits measures. Of course, plenty of out of state money is funding both sides of this measure. Moreover, vast amounts of out of state money pour in for the state’s U.S. Senate and House candidates.
The legislators also foolishly argue that voters don’t understand these measures. Actually, those measures are about simple concepts. Now that constitutional amendments have to be limited to a single subject, they will be easier to understand than ever.
If voters can understand who they’re electing to the Legislature, they can understand the content of a constitutional amendment.
In testifying against Measure 1, The League of Women Voters of North Dakota got it right when it said, “The citizen initiative process is a hallmark of direct democracy. It promotes civic engagement, increases government accountability, and provides a channel for North Dakotans to elevate an issue that otherwise would not be addressed…There is power in North Dakotans organizing around an issue through the initiative process.”
Firefighters put out the fire following a recent Russian drone attack in Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
Measure 1 is a blatant power grab by the Legislature. It’s an insult to North Dakota voters and throws roadblocks at our basic rights.
Measure 1 must be soundly defeated.
–Donald Trump’s deal to buy diesel fuel from Russia and fund the Russian war effort is outrageous. It’s also outrageous that Trump also blocked Ukraine from access to Starlink, which is an important part of battlefield communications. As a result, Russia fired 39 ballistic missiles and 120 attack drones against Ukraine this week. Because of Trump’s actions, Ukraine had no idea this attack was coming.
Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach
Thus, power was cut to 600,000 people in Kyiv. Ultimately, with a brutal winter coming, Trump’s move could lead to a collapse of Ukraine’s energy system. With Russia blasting Ukraine’s power plants and substations, it could lead to Ukrainians having no access to electricity, heat and water. And of course, Trump’s moves open the door to other Russian attacks, where Ukrainians would be unable to defend themselves, and thousands of more innocent Ukrainians will die.
Erik Osberg in the KFGO studio
It’s all a betrayal of the suffering people in Ukraine and a rejection of American values. It’s stunning that Trump continues to side with the thug, Vladimir Putin. Trump now has Ukrainian blood on his hands.
–Good to see that the Fargo Forum has endorsed Democrat Erik Osberg over incumbent Republican Michelle Fischbach in the Minnesota 7th District House race. It’s also quite surprising. The Forum virtually always endorses Republican candidates, unless the Republican is really bad.
As the Forum emphasized, Fischbach has an appalling record. Her support of Donald Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran is inexcusable. The war alone has led to painfully high gas and diesel prices, which has hurt everyone in her district, especially farmers. Fischbach has also been alarmingly silent about Trump’s cruelty and corruption.
In fact, it’s horrifying that Fischbach has been silent about everything. She virtually never holds public events or does interviews with the news media.
Fargo City Commission meeting July 20, 2026. (City of Fargo photo)
In contrast, Osberg is very accessible and has held many public events. He’s a very impressive, up-and-coming candidate. Osberg will fight to do what’s best for his constituents and for our democracy.
–Now that Fargo voters have rejected a city council, the city commission must be expanded from five to seven members. The five-member Fargo City Commission system was put in place in 1913, when the city’s population was about 16,000.
Now, the population is close to 140,000, which means there should be more representation on the commission.
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