[EL] Voting and Hunting

[Paul Gronke]

Hey list-ers, I’ve received a query from a PolitiFact reporter and I figured I would throw it out to the group. Many of us are receiving the same questions we receive every election, but this is a new one.

I have included the email and my response below. Am I wrong to state that this claim by the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party is pretty obviously wrong?

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One more fact-check for PolitiFact about voting in North Dakota! I'm fact-checking an ad that the North Dakota Dems are running on Facebook. It says, "Attention hunters: Voting in North Dakota could cost you your out-of-state hunting licenses." It leads people to this page: https://demnpl.com/by-voting-in-north-dakota-you-could-forfeit-your-hunting-licenses/

Is that true? And is that a common occurrence? This is the evidence their office provided. Wondering if it is accurate and if you could provide any further context.. Also wondering if this could be seen as voter suppression?

To vote in North Dakota, a person must have a valid North Dakota ID. To have a valid North Dakota ID, a person must establish proof of ND residency.

States require people to have a license to hunt or fish. In many states, the government offers different licenses to residents and nonresidents. In some states, if a person buys a resident license and then establishes residency in another state, the resident hunting license is void. For example, in Kentucky, “A person who does not meet the definition of a Kentucky resident is considered a nonresident and must purchase nonresident licenses and permits.” (This can be confirmed with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources – 1-800-858-1549)

Thus, if someone gets a resident hunting license in Kentucky or another state with similar laws and regulations, they will lose their resident license by showing proof of ND residency required to cast a vote in ND.

Heitkamp made a similar claim: https://freebeacon.com/politics/heitkamp-appears-discourage-voting-hunters-really-important-people-understand-consequences-voting/

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Here is my reply:

This is a new one for me! I am cc’ing a few experts who may know better. I am not a lawyer or a hunter (though I do have a shellfish license in Oregon!) so take my advice in that light.

First, there is a distinction between “residence” and “domicile” in some states. In Oregon, this came up recently when a mayor of Portland had not been paying Oregon taxes for a period of time because his RESIDENCE was in Washington, yet he said his DOMICILE (the place where he intended to return and remain) was Oregon (and he ran and was elected Mayor). I’m not sure this makes a difference on this issue, but here is link to the NCSL page: http://www.ncsl.org/Documents/Elections/The_Canvass_May_2016.pdf

Ok now to hunting licenses. I looked only at two neighboring states, South Dakota and Montana. In both cases, there is a provision for an out of state license:

https://gfp.sd.gov/hunt-fish-license/
https://www.hunter-ed.com/montana/hunting-license.html

In both cases, you establish “residence” by living in a state for 90 days and then can get the residency license. Or you pay for an out of state license.

Frankly, I don’t understand the claim about losing out of state licenses. An out of state license costs a bit more if you are an out of state resident. I don’t see how you’d “lose” that license unless you claimed residency in another state, and if you did, you shouldn’t be voting in North Dakota.


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Paul Gronke
Professor, Reed College
Director, Early Voting Information Center
http://earlyvoting.net

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