In the same press release announcing the rejection of the redistricting petition, Secretary of State Shantel Krebs confirms a teeny-tiny concern that occurred to me last week: we will vote on our ballot measures out of order!
SOS Krebs lists the three ballot measures submitted by our Legislature:
- Amendment X: Senate Joint Resolution 1, Sen. Jim Bolin’s unnecessary plan to raise the popular vote required to amend the state constitution from simple majority to 55%.
- Amendment Y: House Joint Resolution 1004, “Marsy’s Fix,” Rep. G. Mark Mickelson’s surrender to rich California billionaire Henry T. Nicholas, which will amend the billionaire’s crime victim bill of rights instead of striking his vanity bill from our constitution.
- Amendment Z: House Joint Resolution 1006, Rep. Mickelson’s effort to stymie initiated amendments with an unnecessary single-subject rule.
Last week, the Legislature approved spending $200,000 to give Marsy’s Fix special treatment and place it all by its lonesome on the June primary ballot. Thus, in June, we will get a ballot with nothing but “Amendment Y” (and we should all ask Y? Why?). In November, we will get a ballot with Amendments W (IM 22 2.0!), X, and Z.
Will there be mass chaos at the polls in November, as voters hurry back from the booth to ask their auditor if they got a ballot with an omission? Or will attentive voters all read Dakota Free Press, know their ballot question order and history, and vote down any letter worth more than 5 points in Scrabble?
People like letters like Y and X and Z and W. I don’t know why, they just do. They like them better than E and F and D. I suspect the State Secretary is assigning these letters knowing just the coolness of “Amendment X” will increase its affirmative vote count by 3% or more.
Had I been circulating petitions, I definitely would have jockeyed for the X position for marketing purposes. “X Marks the Spot!”