Tracker Pixel for Entry

ALEC-backed legislators behind suppressing vote

News | October 17th, 2018


Cover by Raul Gomez

BISMARCK– The U.S. Supreme Court decision to support North Dakota’s voter ID laws eliminating the use of postal addresses on identification cards was only a nail in the voting coffin. The effort to suppress Native and rural votes began years ago, and carries corporate bill mill ALEC’s fingerprints all over the fine print. 

The 2009 ALEC-created Voter ID Act, which North Dakota has embraced, states that every voter must show proper identification – and like Wyoming in 2011 the state took the proposal a step further by deciding that a post office address was not enough. Thousands of Natives possess only post office addresses on their tribal IDs, and live hundreds of miles from a handful of North Dakota Department of Transportation offices. 

College students and low-income individuals who move during the year could also be disenfranchised, as they do not possess additional qualifying documents such as a utility bill or a paycheck stub.

ALEC, or the American Legislative Exchange Council, says it is nonpartisan, but is known as a powerful and secretive collaboration between big business and conservative politicians. Approximately 22 legislators in the North Dakota House of Representatives have ALEC ties, including representatives Al Carlson, Jim Kasper, Ben Koppelman, and Randy Boehning. Seven state senators are also listed as having ties to ALEC, including West Fargo’s Judy Lee by the Center for Media and Democracy. 

Five weeks before Election Day, the North Dakota Secretary of State issued an email alerting tribal leaders to the fact that post office addresses would no longer be acceptable. For many in rural areas obtaining proper identification or renewing a license within a month’s time means they must travel up to 150 miles to a Department of Transportation facility, wait 50 minutes in a congested office open for hardly half a day, one time a month. 

Currently there are eight Department of Transportation offices in the state: Bismarck, Devils Lake, Dickinson, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, Valley City, and Williston, most of which have regular operating hours. The Department of Transportation also has renewal offices in Beulah, Bottineau, Bowman, Grafton, Harvey, Linton, Oaks, Rolla, Wahpeton, and Watford City. Many of these offices are open half days, some for as little as four hours once a month. 

During the 2016 legislative session the government reduced the days that some renewal offices could be open. Department of Transportation offices in Bowman, Linton, Rolla, Oakes, and Harvey are now open one day a month. Cities including Wahpeton, Bottineau, Beulah, and even Valley City, population 6,566, are open two days a month.

“The level of service is unacceptable,” Representative Marvin Nelson said. “We were told there would be a day of service when two days did not meet demand and now we only get a few hours. Totally unacceptable.”

The Secretary of State’s office also reported that concerned citizens can start the switch-over process by contacting the county 911 coordinators for their registered 911 addresses. While some Native citizens report they have been waiting for three weeks to receive their physical addresses, all 53 county coordinators reported they have not had a sudden influx of calls in the past month. 

The North Dakota Department of Transportation communications personnel Jamie Olson reported requests to change addresses on IDs has doubled so far in October. 

The history, the timing, and the targeted population all point to a coordinated attempt to suppress the Native, rural, and college vote.

“I’m not going to ascribe motive to the North Dakota legislature, but the end result is making it harder for people on the reservation to vote,” former US Attorney for the District of North Dakota Tim Purdon said.

[This story is an accompanying piece to this week's cover story]

Recently in:

By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.comIt’s been eight years since the Water Protectors were cleared off the banks of the Cannonball and Missouri Rivers. It was a bitter ending to a battle to protect the water; and for most of us…

By HPR Staff We’re all a part of building strong, healthy and inclusive communities. But the region’s non-profit organizations do a lot of the heavy lifting. Now it’s time for these organizations to step into the spotlight.…

January 21- February 8Fargo-MoorheadWhoever said there’s nothing to do in Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo clearly hibernates through Frostival, because this nine day celebration of winter celebrates and embraces cold weather fun,…

By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com As I write this article, it’s January, and the temperatures in North Dakota are negative. I’m living in a house and our furnace just died a forever death after years of quick fixes. Yet,…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWill the Divided States of America Add or Subtract to the Future?In 1937, English writer Aldous Huxley published his novel of the future “Brave New World 632 A.F.” (after Henry Ford), a world…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com So far in 2025, announcements for new restaurant openings in the metro far outnumber closings. This is good news going into the new year for us hungry folk. In my opinion, the positive trend will…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Local band Zero Place has been making quite a name for itself locally and regionally in the last few years. Despite getting its start during a time it seemed the whole world was coming to…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com For so many of us, the news announcing the death of the brilliant David Keith Lynch — who died just a few days short of his 79th birthday — interrupted beautiful blue skies and golden sunshine…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIn 1974, the Jamestown Arts Center started as a small space above a downtown drugstore. It has grown to host multiple classrooms, a gallery, performance studio, ceramic studio and outdoor art park.…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…

By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com On Dec 5, the Turning Point USA chapter at North Dakota State University hosted an event called BisonFest. This event featured Chloe Cole, a former trans kid, known for detransitioning and…

By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com A friend of mine, a well-known Bismarck liberal (I have a few of those), came up to me after church the other day and asked, “So, are you moving out of the country?” I knew he was referring…