Voters in North Dakota will decide on a constitutional amendment on June 9, 2026, that would establish a single-subject requirement for constitutional amendments. The proposal follows a 2024 measure that voters rejected, which would have established a single-subject rule for all citizen-initiated measures and enacted other changes. Single-subject rules require ballot measures to focus on one topic.
Under the proposed 2026 amendment, the single-subject rule would apply to both citizen-initiated amendments and amendments placed on the ballot by the state legislature. The secretary of state would determine whether an initiative covers more than one subject. If so, the initiative would not be approved for signature gathering.
Ten states with initiative processes, including North Dakota, do not have a single-subject rule. There are 26 states that provide for at least one type of statewide citizen-initiated measure. Of those 26 states, 16 have single-subject rules. North Dakota allows citizens to initiate statutes and constitutional amendments. The single-subject requirement would not apply to initiative petitions amending state law.
Every state except Delaware requires constitutional amendments to be placed on the statewide ballot for voter approval. Of the 49 states that vote on legislatively referred constitutional amendments, 32 had provisions requiring constitutional amendments to embrace one subject or otherwise be voted on separately. North Dakota is one of 17 states that did not have such a requirement for amendments referred to the ballot by the state legislature.
The amendment was introduced as Senate Concurrent Resolution 4007 and passed in the Senate with a vote of 46-1. The House amended the resolution to change the election date from the November general election to the June primary election. The Senate did not concur with the House’s amendments, and a conference committee was appointed. The Senate passed the conference committee report, which included the election date change, by a voice vote on April 21. The House passed the conference committee report on April 24 in a 57-36 vote, with all 11 Democratic representatives opposed and Republicans voting 57-25.
From 1996 through 2024, the state legislature referred 40 constitutional amendments to the ballot. Voters approved 26 (65.0%) and rejected 14 (35.0%) of the referred amendments. During the same period, 19 citizen-initiated constitutional amendments appeared on the ballot. Voters approved 11 (57.9%) and rejected eight (42.1%) of the proposed amendments.
The last ballot measure to provide for a single-subject rule for initiatives was Arizona Proposition 129, which was approved in 2022 with 55% of voters in favor and 45% opposed.
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