Tracker Pixel for Entry

Voting requirements as clear as mud

Editorial | November 12th, 2014

Our opinion/ North Dakotans were stymied by new Voter ID law

Since Election Day, stories have been pouring in across North Dakota from voters not allowed to vote because of requirements from the state’s new Voter ID law. This year was the first general election vote following the ND Legislature’s enactment of the law.

In particular, many college students were unable to vote on Election Day because they had moved shortly before the election. The problem, however, seems to be not the law itself but an arbitrary requirement by North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger saying that voters must register a change of address 30 days before Election Day. So even if your ID was correct, if it wasn’t registered 30 days before Election Day, you wouldn’t have been allowed to vote. Why this was necessary is unclear. He claims it was contained in the law, but others disagree.

The biggest problem with this requirement is that neither state nor the university system did an adequate job of educating the voters on this requirement, something Jaeger later publicly admitted. The Secretary of State’s office did spend thousands of dollars on an ad campaign telling voters that voting in North Dakota was “easy as pie,” however, it is an understatement that they should’ve made the 30 day requirement a larger part of the campaign. It was mostly just clear that people had to live in their district 30 days before Election Day.

This affected students the most because many live with their parents during the summer and need to update a change of their address as soon as the school year starts. All of this calls into question the intent of the new law and the Secretary of State. It clearly wasn’t easy as pie for everyone; it was clear as mud. We were told the intention was to prevent voter fraud, a problem that didn’t seem rampant in the state before the law was passed.

Was the real goal to prevent young people and students from voting? It doesn’t take a very cynical person to extrapolate that a fear of those voters’ traditions of voting for the party other than the one of the Secretary of State and the North Dakota Legislature’s majority may have factored in. With more young people moving to the state because of a booming economy, perhaps it was believed in a tight election, this could make a difference.

Regardless of what happened Tuesday, if that was not the Secretary of State’s objective with this new law, he should take steps to rectify it. Maybe the law needs to be amended in the next Legislative session. Ideally, he shouldn’t make deadlines for registering an address before Election Day, especially if it wasn’t already included in the law. Why 30 days? Why not one day? Why not make it easy as possible for voters to vote? Turnout isn’t always the greatest during a non-Presidential year, so why not boost those numbers by not making voters jump through hoops they weren’t told about. Even some county auditors were surprised by the 30-day registration deadline imposed by Jaeger.

We say we want young people to become more involved and not be cynical about government and the process of voting and then North Dakota goes and does something that seems to be specifically targeted at preventing them from voting. It’s safe to say no fraud was prevented here but rather a disenfranchisement of younger voters. There was nothing nefarious about these students wanting to vote; they were legitimate residents of the state who deserved the right to vote like anyone else.

Until Jaeger does more than say “hindsight usually makes us a lot smarter,” and “we followed the law,” that alienation will continue. Hopefully, some members of the Legislature will put their duty over the party and rectify this situation. But past history tells us they won’t be in a rush to change things if it doesn’t benefit them. Of course Legislators and the Secretary of State can stand tall and proud for preventing any major voter fraud this past Election Day -- voter fraud that was previously unseen or unheard of in North Dakota before the law was enacted.

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comNorth Dakota communities will join a “nationwide day of defiance” against authoritarianism and President Donald Trump’s policies on Saturday, June 14. A range of "No Kings" events…

Back-to-school season is on the horizon, but there's still plenty of summer left. Check out our favorite August attractions and events in North Dakota and western Minnesota. And if if you missed them, here are a few excellent May…

June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…

Fighting the good fightBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Over two thousand rallies took place nationwide June 14 as part of the “No Kings" protest. Ten of those protests were held in North Dakota, with thousands in attendance.…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comThe Fiddler on the roof was taking a big chance after two thousand years of hate Cal Thomas, who seems to hate a lot in a journalistic and broadcasting career where he expresses his conservative…

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 The weather warmed up quickly here in the upper Midwest this spring, sparking prime eating season. This means burger battles, food trucks and lake-season food travel. The 2025 Downtown Fargo Burger…

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comThe Moorhead Public Library will offer three free, all-ages outdoor concerts featuring regional bands this summer. The series begins on June 12 with the Meat Rabbits, a group that blends…

By JD Provorsejdprovorse@gmail.comHorror movie fans of the valley, our time has come! Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival comes to the Fargo Theatre on Saturday, June 21. I sat down with JD Provorse, the creator and curator of DDHF…

By Raul Gomezraul@hpr1.com Minutes before Modern’s Celebration of Life opened its door at the Sons of Norway, I was fiddling with the bar computer, trying to pull up the playlists of Modern’s work I had set aside for the…

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comAct Up Theatre, in partnership with Minnesota State University Moorhead, will present “The Sound of Music” on June 10-14. All shows are at 7:30 p.m. at the Minnesota State Moorhead’s…

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 Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There appear to be differences in the incidence of mental illnesses between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…