BISMARCK, N.D. — A proposed ballot measure in North Dakota that aimed to require hand counting of every election ballot, among other proposals, will not proceed.
Initiative leader Lydia Gessele said Thursday that the group will not submit signatures before Friday’s deadline because it fell about 4,000 signatures short of the 31,164 needed for the constitutional measure to appear on the ballot. The group had a year to collect signatures.
Deadlines for the measure to place the June and November 2024 ballots came and went, although the group could have submitted signatures to appear on the June 2026 ballot.
The proposed measure numerous changes, including requiring hand counts of all ballots; banning voting machines, electronic processing devices and early voting; limiting ballots; and provide any U.S. citizen the ability to verify or audit an election in North Dakota at any time.
Manually counting ballots is a focus of the former president’s supporters Donald Trump who has refuted claims of election fraud be for 2020 loss to Joe Biden.
Critics say manually counting the ballots takes a long time, delays the results and is more prone to errors. Proponents, who are suspicious of tabulators and machines, say counting by hand is more reliable because there are volunteers willing to do it.
The Georgia State Election Board meeting was held last week approved a new rule requiring the number of paper ballots to be counted by hand — a move that opponents fear will cause delays and problems in presidential election results in the key swing state. A lawsuit challenges the rule.
In June, voters in three South Dakota counties cast ballots rejected counting by hand measures. According to a spokesperson for the Voting Rights Lab, hand counting legislation failed in New Hampshire and Kansas earlier this year after passing one committee.
North Dakota, the only state without voter registration, used alone paper ballots, which are counted by electronic tabulators. Absentee voting began Thursday in the Peace Garden State.
Nearly 44% of North Dakota voters participated early voting or by mail in the November 2022 elections.