For Immediate Release
April 19th, 2022
Press Contact: Jared Hendrix
Phone: (701)712-1487
LibertyHendrix@gmail.com
ND TERM LIMITS SUBMITS SECOND LETTER FROM LEGAL TEAM TO SECRETARY OF STATE
North Dakota for Term Limits Outlines Detailed Rebuttal of Improper Decision by Secretary of State’s Office
Bismarck, ND – The North Dakota for Term Limits Committee has submitted a second letter to the North Dakota Secretary of State, correcting Secretary Jaeger’s unlawful decision to disqualify tens of thousands of valid signatures from North Dakotans who sought a statewide vote on 8-year term limits. The letter builds on the foundation established by the Committee’s first letter, which was sent to the Secretary on April 11th.
“The Secretary of State opposes term limits and has taken a sloppy, keystone-cops approach to this issue. Our committee has complied fully with state law.” said Jared Hendrix, Chairman of North Dakota Term Limits. “We are submitting these letters to correct the record and give the people of North Dakota a vote on term limits. From the information we have been given, and upon our review of the documents we have been sent, there is no justification for this wholesale rejection of this ballot measure. Over 46,000 North Dakotans have attested to their desire to have this issue be placed on the ballot for them to decide. The Secretary of State’s office should do the right thing and give the people what they want.”
The 14-page letter, prepared by attorney Edward Greim, repeats the Committee’s request for Secretary Jaeger to produce all documents Jaeger used in determining that 29,101, or 62.7%, of the submitted signatures were inadmissible. So far Jaeger has only furnished a minor portion of those necessary documents.
Additionally, the letter refutes Jaeger’s baseless charge that campaign circulators were paid per signature, noting that Jaeger has relied on hearsay and has improperly conflated the deliverable of a successful campaign with paying circulators per signature.
Finally, the letter demonstrates that Jaeger disqualified thousands of signatures in violation of legal precedents established by the North Dakota Supreme Court. These included incidents where Jaeger struck down signatures from North Dakota residents who attempted in good faith to sign the petition but might have had poor handwriting, written their address in the wrong box or resided in a college dormitory without having listed their room number.
The State Supreme Court has ruled previously that signatures are valid if the elector (i.e. the petition signer) has “substantially complied” with relevant statutes. Jaeger jettisoned this standard, instead imposing his own “strict compliance” standard which left no room for minor human error.
The full text of the committee’s legal team’s letter can be found here. The exhibits referenced in the letter are available at this Dropbox link.
Additional information about the term limits measure may be obtained at northdakotafortermlimits.com.