With 207 of 422 prescincts reporting Tuesday evening, it appeared that voters in the state had given a decisive no to both Measure 1 and Measure 2.

Voters were saying no to Measure 1 with 74 percent no votes and 26 percent yes votes. Measure 2 was going down with 63 percent no votes and 37 percent yes votes.

Measure No. 1 would have amended the state constitution and increased the number of members on the state board of higher education from eight to 15. Under the measure, no member could be a legislator, statewide elected official, or full-time state employee. One of the 15 positions would have continued to be a student enrolled in one of the state’s 11 public colleges or universities.

Measure No. 2 would have required that the state Legislature ratify constitutional measures initiated and approved by voters. If the Legislature declined to do this, the measure would go back to voters, who would have the final say.

Sen. Karen Krebsbach, R-Dist. 40, said Tuesday evening that she would not be surprised if both measures failed to pass.

Krebsbach said she believes that Measure 1 needs further study.

“If there needs to be something done to the higher ed. board, that is not the answer,” said Krebsbach. She said it can already be a challenge to find people who are willing to serve on the higher ed. board. Recently one member who had been appointed resigned almost right away, she said.

“You can have 20 people or you can have 10 people,” she said, but what matters is getting the right people to serve on the board.

Measure 1 also would have increased the term of a board member from four years to six. The governor’s task force to study higher education governance had recommended two boards, one to oversee for the state’s research universities and one for the other nine institutions. A bill that would have created two boards failed in the 2019 Legislature. At that point, the 2019 Legislature placed the bill to increase the number of members from 8 to 15 on the ballot. Proponents had said an increase in size would help carry the workload.

Krebsbach said she also had expected Measure 2 to go down but she is disappointed. She said out of state interests have been trying to change the way North Dakota is governed by pushing for changes to the state’s constitution.

“We’ve got to be careful about what we do with our constitution,” she said, adding that some of the measures that have passed have not been well thought out before they were put to a vote.