General Election Tuesday, Nov. 5

Election day is nearly upon us, and once again there are plenty of important decisions to make at the ballot box.

Although there aren't any locally- contested races in Foster County, there are plenty of choices to be made on statewide issues and regarding who will represent us at the state and national level.

Locally, three Foster County commissioners are all running for re-election. Pat Copenhaver, Becky Hagel and David Utke are all running unopposed for another four-year term on the commission.

Steve Metzger is the lone name on the ballot for the county's representative to Garrison Diversion Conservancy District, while Bob House is running unopposed for a supervisor position with the Foster County Soil Conservation District.

There are, however, closely watched contests in this election for statewide positions in North Dakota.

Recent polling suggests that Katrina Christiansen of the Democratic-NPL party has been making up ground on incumbent Republican Kevin Cramer for a U.S. Senate seat, while Julie Fedorchak (R) and Trygve Hammer (D-NPL) are running to replace Kelly Armstrong as North Dakota's sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Instead of defending his seat in the U.S. House, Armstrong has instead decided to run for North Dakota Governor.

Armstrong, a Republican, and his running mate Michelle Strinden are going up against Democratic-NPL candidates Merrill Piepkorn and Patrick Hart for Governor and Lt. Governor, respectively.

Michael Coachman and Lydia Gessele are also running in this year's gubernatorial election as independent candidates.

Voters also have a choice about who will lead the Department of Public Instruction for the next four years. Incumbent Kirsten Baesler, who has held the position since 2012, is facing a challenge from Jason Heitkamp. The position is non-partisan. Heitkamp told the North Dakota Monitor that, if elected, he would push the Legislature to make public schools fully funded by the state.

Meanwhile, perhaps the most important and impactful decisions voters will make in this election will be on a number of ballot measures.

There are five in total, a few of which have been particularly controversial.

Initiated Constitutional Measure No. 4 would eliminate valuation-based property taxes in the state, costing approximately $3.15 billion in expenditures to the state beginning with the 2025-27 biennium.

More information about this measure can be found in previous articles written by the Independent by going to fosterconews.com and searching "Measure 4."

Initiated Statutory Measure No. 5, meanwhile, would legalize the production and sale of recreational marijuana in North Dakota.

Constitutional Measure No. 2 would essentially make it more difficult to pass any future measures altering the N.D. Constitution. If passed, the measure would amend the state's constitution to require that future constitutional initiated measures be passed by a majority of the popular vote twice – in both the primary and general elections – before being enacted. Currently they only need to pass once, in either the primary or general election.

Measure 2 would also increase the number of signatures required for a petition to be successful, increasing from 4% to 5% of the state's population.

Full summaries of all the ballot measures and their estimated financial impact will be printed on the ballots themselves, and additional information about the measures and the election overall can be found on the Secretary of State's website at http://www.sos.nd.gov.

Tuesday, Nov. 5, is the final day for voting to take place, and anyone who hasn't voted early will head to their local polling location to cast their ballot.

Here in Foster County, that polling location is the Carrington City Library, located at 87 8th Ave N in downtown Carrington, which will be open for voting between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.