Sen. Sean Cleary, R-Bismarck, successfully introduced a floor amendment to a bill aimed at expanding North Dakota’s law against false political advertisements on social media, text messages, and phone calls. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Schatz, R-New England, passed the Senate with a 45-1 vote and will now be sent back to the House for approval of the amendment.
The amendment was added to address a specific incident during the 2024 election where false text messages were sent to North Dakota voters claiming a candidate had dropped out of the race. This incident highlighted the need for updated laws to prevent such deceptive tactics in political campaigns.
Sen. Cleary, who was the campaign manager for the candidate targeted by the false messages, emphasized the importance of maintaining the integrity of elections by preventing the spread of falsehoods about candidates. The bill aims to make it clear in the Century Code that deceptive communications through electronic transmission, such as text messages and phone calls, are included in the legislation.
During the debate on the bill, concerns were raised about who would determine what is considered deceptive or misleading in such communications. Sen. Braunberger explained that state attorneys and courts would ultimately make that decision.
If the House approves Cleary’s amendment, the bill will proceed to a final vote before being sent to the governor for signing. Any disagreements on the amendment would lead to further debates in a conference committee between the House and Senate. This legislation marks a step towards protecting the transparency and reliability of political communications in North Dakota.
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