ND Attorney General Receives Official Request For Opinion On Recalling A US Senator
I’ve posted at length about an effort here in North Dakota to recall Senator Kent Conrad, but one of the chief hurdles to that effort has been the opinion of some that the state constitution doesn’t allow for a recall of a federal official. The North Dakota Secretary of State’s office won’t issue a recall petition based on that assumption.
Now I can confirm that Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s office has, indeed, received an official request for a legal opinion today on the recall issue.
Showing how worried they are about this, liberal interests in the state have been filing daily Freedom of Information Act requests for information about this request for an opinion.
Rep. Blair Thoreson, who doesn’t support the recall effort, requested the opinion at the behest of a constituent.
The pertinent text of the state constitution reads:
Any elected official of the state, of any county or of any legislative or county commissioner district shall be subject to recall by petition of electors equal in number to twenty-five percent of those who voted at the preceding general election for the office of governor in the state, county, or district in which the official is to be recalled.
Senator Kent Conrad, along with Senator Dorgan and Rep. Earl Pomeroy, are absolutely officials elected of the state. Because they certainly aren’t elected by Minnesotans or Montanans. Thus, the state constitution’s recall provisions clearly apply to them.
What’s more, a court in New Jersey has already ruled that there is no provisions in the US constitution preventing such a recall.
The opinion from AG Wayne Stenehjem should be released in a couple of weeks. I can’t imagine how the ruling can be anything than in favor of recall.
Tags: Kent Conrad, minnesota vikings, North Dakota News, recall, shane goettle, Uncategorized, Wayne Stenehjem
