From campaign stop to campaign stop, secretary of state candidate Kristin Hedger had heard a rumor of a letter. She briefly glanced at one copy of the letter between stops and it was circulated to newspaper editors across the state.
The letter in question, written by Grant Brown of Dunn Center, raised the issue of Hedger's residency status in North Dakota. To run for state office, candidates need to be a North Dakota resident for the five years prior to when they would take office.
That the 26-year-old candidate hasn't been a North Dakota resident is news to her.
"Like many children of divorced families, I had more than one house, but my home, to me, was always Killdeer, N.D.," said Hedger, the Democratic candidate in the upcoming general election. "I lived with my grandparents until I went to college."
Hedger said she spent time in both Texas and Killdeer.
ADVERTISEMENT
The North Dakota Century Code provides seven rules for determining the residency of a person in Chapter 54-01-26.
Hedger points first and foremost to the seventh one: The residence can be changed only by the union of act and intent.
For her, intentions have always been clear. Hedger said since the age of 7, she's been talking about public service in the state of North Dakota.
Actions establishing said residency come in many forms - anything from a obtaining a driver's license to filing tax forms to having a utility bill with a local address.
"I've always voted in North Dakota; I've always filed for taxes here," Hedger said of what she has done to indicate her residence in the state.
Hedger's other main concern is the very office for which she's running is the body responsible for maintaining the integrity of the election, as charged in its mission statement.
"(The secretary of state) can ask many questions; in fact, he's supposed to," Hedger said.
Hedger said if she were in the position of secretary of state and someone with her background - a young person who has been an out-of-state student for some of the past five years - she would do her part to research the candidate.
ADVERTISEMENT
"If I felt comfortable with (the information), I'd certify them," Hedger said. "If I had questions, I would call for an investigation from the attorney general, and I would do it before the primary, and most certainly before the general (election). We are now 59 days away from the (general) election."
The secretary of state's office, however, is not an investigative branch. It instead oversees the filings of candidates for elections.
The state Century Code does provide, however, the means to contest the qualifications of a candidate. Chapter 16.1-09 states, "Upon a complaint, signed under penalty of perjury, by any person, or upon the motion of the attorney general or a state's attorney, the attorney general or state's attorney shall investigate any alleged violation of this chapter."
Hedger said the idea of the secretary of state taking action against possible offenses to the integrity of the office is not without precedent. Hedger said even during this campaign season, current Secretary of State Al Jaeger requested more information from the Democratic-NPL party with respect to contributions.
"The secretary of state noted that he needed to have more information, so he could certify the validity of our activities," Hedger said.
Saying that Brown's letter was "transparently politically motivated," Hedger is instead choosing to focus on the issues and her race for office.
"One thing I will note and pledge to North Dakotans, I will always maintain an attentive and forward-thinking eye on our elections process to maintain that integrity," she said.
