North Dakota may be the next state to impose term limits on its governor and state lawmakers. North Dakota Term Limits, a grassroots organization with a 42-member committee that includes current and former members of the N.D. state legislature, filed the proposed ballot measure in June. Petitioners are making great strides gathering the required 31,164 signatures to put the measure on the ballot in 2022.
According to Jared Hendrix, the committee chair, “It’s about the principle of term limits. It’s a long-term structural change. The polling data we have shows that this is a popular issue across the political spectrum.”
The proposed constitutional measure would restrict the governor to two four-year terms and legislators to eight years, or two terms, in each house. That adds up to a combined 16 years in the state legislature, whether consecutive or cumulative. The term limits would not apply to current office holders.
The proposed measure also would amend the constitution to allow only voters and not the Legislature to ever alter or repeal the term limit provision.
Success at the ballot would make North Dakota the 36th state to term limit its governor and the 16th to implement state legislative term limits joining ranks with Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.
If you live in North Dakota and would like to help, visit the group’s web site at northdakotafortermlimits.com.
