BISMARCK — Fargo's current voting process in municipal elections will likely become null and void after the North Dakota Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill that seeks to ban approval voting across the state.
Senate lawmakers on Thursday, March 30, passed House Bill 1273 , which would prohibit rank-choice voting and approval voting systems throughout the state of North Dakota, including Fargo where the last two elections have utilized approval voting.
The vote passed 33-13, and with the House's 74-19 vote on Feb. 15, clears the two-thirds majority threshold needed to override a potential veto from Gov. Doug Burgum.
An amendment to the bill to grandfather Fargo's approval voting system failed in the House.
Defenders of approval voting, which became law in Fargo behind a 2018 ballot measure, said it was another example of government overreach.
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Mayor Tim Mahoney said he was very disappointed by the bill's passing, which he defined as a substantial loss for the "longstanding respect for Home Rule authority and local control."
The issue should be left to local voters, Mahoney said.
"Approval voting was enacted in Fargo by the people, not the elected officials. In fact, over 30,000 Fargo voters (64% of those casting ballots) supported approval voting after a successful initiated measure campaign. Today's actions silence those Fargo voters," Mahoney said.
Approval voting allows Fargo residents to cast votes for all candidates they approve of in municipal races, such as the mayoral and city commission elections. The candidate with the most votes wins the seat.
Sen. Judy Lee, R-West Fargo, said the bill was an “unnecessary intrusion.”
“It was the voters choice. It has been a success there,” she said.
Sen. Shawn Vedaa, R-Velva, said approval voting concerned him because it was similar to ranked voting. “We certainly do not think that ranked voting is the way to vote in this country. To rank them in a voting situation is not what our founders believed in,” Vedaa said.
Lee argued back, noting Fargo’s current voting system was not a ranked voting system.
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Fargo-based Sen. Kyle Davison pointed out Fargo was the first city in the US to use approval voting in a municipal election.
"There was some frustration in our city. And that’s when the citizens from over here said how could we make this more fair and would encourage more people to run, which it did," Davison said. "It really is kind of messy if you ask me."
If approval voting is what Fargo wanted, then the city should be the ones to vote it out, said Sen. Ronald Sorvaag, R-Fargo. “I don’t think it’s any business of the Legislature, and I look at prime sponsors that aren’t even from the city that are asking this to go away," he said.
The best government is the closer you get to people, Sorvaag added. "If it’s so wrong, then leave it alone. Let them make the choice and govern themselves."
The bill was first introduced by Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, on Jan. 11.
“This bill was brought before (the House) to ensure that all citizens of North Dakota have their constitutional and civic rights protected by the state and not… be diluted… by the city or by the local ballot," Koppelman said previously.
Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, said she believed the bill was representative of the entire state, and not just Fargo.
“I think this is a broader aspect of how we want to be as a state. I see it as a state bill, and state legislators should take that mandate,” Myrdal said.
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Sen. Ryan Braunberger, D-Fargo, echoed some of his colleagues, saying the decision should be left up to the Fargo voters.
“We need to follow the voices of the people, and the people did speak in the area I represent," Braunberger said. "We need to bring confidence back, and the only way to do that is to get ourselves out of the local elections, and let them vote the way they want."
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