Why Don’t Legislative Republicans Trust the Voters?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 14th, 2019

***Release***
Why Don’t Legislative Republicans Trust the Voters?
(BISMARCK, ND) – This session, the Republicans displayed their contempt for the voters by taking away control from anyone who dares to disagree with them. If Fargo wants to raise the minimum wage, they can’t do it. That’s been disallowed. If Bismarck wanted to ban plastic bags? Too bad – we now have a ban on the ban. Gun buyback programs?  NO WAY – that, too, has been banned.

Even your vote may not matter. Senate Concurrent Resolution 4001 adds barriers to citizen-led Constitutional measures that would give the Legislature the power to say whether or not they approve of the citizen’s vote. If lawmakers deem the citizens were misinformed and confused, the Legislature can reject the measure. The measure would then need to be voted on for a second time by the citizens.

It gets worse: House Concurrent Resolution 3010 would have raised the threshold for passing Constitutional measures proposed by citizens to 60 percent instead of a simple majority. That failed in the Senate. Then, the House blocked Senate Concurrent Resolution 4015. This resolution would have gone even further, requiring 60 percent of the vote, doubling the number of signatures required to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot, and narrowing the deadline for submitting petitions.

What are Legislative Republicans so afraid of? Are these efforts just another shameless power grab, or do some Legislators feel that voters are simply too stupid to think for themselves?
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