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Voter-registration bill draws strong opposition from Secretary of State, tribal advocates and voting-rights groups
Summary
Representative Mike Schatz introduced House Bill 1287 to require voter registration; the Secretary of State, tribal representatives, the ACLU and other witnesses warned the change would duplicate current voter-ID processes, create barriers for tribal and rural voters, require large public education costs and risk disenfranchising residents.
Representative Mike Schatz returned to the Government and Veterans Affairs Committee to sponsor House Bill 1287, a proposal to institute statewide voter registration in North Dakota and to require registrants to indicate party affiliation on the form. Schatz said North Dakota is currently the only state without voter registration and argued the measure would prevent crossover voting in primaries.
Michael Howe, the Secretary of State (represented in testimony by Deputy Sandy McMurdie), testified in opposition. The office said North Dakota’s voter-ID laws already collect the same qualifying data (name, address, date of birth and prior registration), that registration would duplicate processes and that implementing registration would impose large education costs and operational burdens on county auditors and state agencies. McMurdie told the committee the secretary’s office estimated substantial outreach and technical work would be required and that the change could cause long lines and confusion on Election Day immediately after implementation.
Multiple witnesses representing tribal communities, voter-rights groups and disability advocates testified against the bill. Nicole Donaghy of North Dakota Native Vote said tribal residents face persistent barriers including lack of street addresses and unreliable mail delivery; she warned registration would disproportionately burden tribal communities. The ACLU’s Cody Schuler said the group found no election integrity problems that registration would fix, and North Dakota Native Vote and other witnesses urged a do-not-pass recommendation.
Committee members questioned how noncitizen and temporary-resident IDs are marked and how registration would interact with existing ID processes. McMurdie and witnesses noted a 1951 repeal of statewide registration and urged care because a whole generation of voters has not used a registration system. The committee closed the hearing on HB1287 without taking a vote.
