North Dakota Senate fails to override Governor’s veto of ranked-choice voting ban
by Staff Report
A bill banning ranked-choice voting (HB1273) passed both chambers of the North Dakota Legislature before being vetoed by Governor Doug Burgum. The governor referred to the bill as an “egregious example of state overreach” that “blatantly infringes on local control.” This is odd, since it is state governments that establish local governments. States have both the power and responsibility to provide for reasonably uniform elections that protect the rights of all state residents.
The North Dakota House of Representatives succeeded in overriding the governor's veto, but the Senate failed to do the same, meaning North Dakota won’t follow Idaho and South Dakota's lead in banning RCV this legislative session. Florida and Tennessee have also banned RCV.
While no locales in the state currently use RCV (the city of Fargo uses a related system called “approval voting” for certain elections), without legislation banning it, cities and counties could eventually use it in local elections.