At the moment, North Dakota is one of only 8 states in the country that doesn’t observe term limits for its #governor and state legislators. However, the North Dakota Term Limits for Governor and State Legislators Initiative which is set to feature on the ballot come November 8, 2022, will be looking to change that. Should voters vote “yes” to this initiated constitutional amendment, subsequent state legislators and governors will be limited to two four-year terms. A “no” vote will reject the implementation of term limits in the state.

No term limits have been very beneficial to North Dakota in a lot of ways. To start with, it has given the governor and state legislators of ND the breathing space needed to actually focus on governance and policies that improve the state rather than focusing on re-election. This is something not readily seen in places that implement term limits. A classic example of this is ex-POTUS #Donald Trump who started campaigning for re-election as early as 2017 – just a year after being sworn into office. Also, the use of no term limits in the state has ensured that someone efficient and familiar with the situation of things is always at the helm of affairs. And, as many of these officials keep working with the same faces year in and year out, it’s easier to build a cohesive relationship in the best interests of the state. But most of all, it has kept power with the people as voters aren’t forced to lose truly good governors and state legislators.

However, no term limits have their demerits as well, not least of which is that it actively encourages the existence and proliferation of career politicians. This, in turn, leads to empire building, something that rarely serves the masses well. Ensuring that the governor and state legislators are restricted by term limits can also do a lot to limit the incidence of corruption in government. As officeholders have less time to get “dirty”, they become less inclined to follow corrupt practices. Also, in its own way, term limits can encourage more voter participation, since the winner of the next election won’t already be engraved in stone.

All of these factors and more raise the all-important question, should North Dakota state #legislators and governor be subject to term limits?