The North Dakota Ethics Commission has seen an increase in campaign-related complaints but lacks the tools to investigate the allegations, said Executive Director Rebecca Binstock.

The Commissioners are considering introducing a new set of rules to give the body more powers to investigate complaints.

As of the end of June, 23 complaints had been filed with the commission since the beginning of the year. Of those, 10 were campaign-related, Binstock said. The commission received 17 complaints in all of 2023 and 14 in 2022. Two complaints each year in both 2023 and 2022 were campaign-related. Generally, ethics complaints are confidential unless the commission finds them to be meritorious and the accused has an opportunity to appeal.

“We have also received, I would call it anecdotal information, from the public, from state agencies, state employees as well as elected officials that this particular election cycle is different,” Binstock told commissioners during a Wednesday meeting. “That anecdotal evidence is consistent with what we are seeing in real time based on the complaints that are coming in.”

Secretary of State Michael Howe said his office has received reports of alleged improper campaign finance disclosures on materials such as signs and fliers, although he is not sure if there have been more of them this election cycle than in previous years. The Secretary of State's office does not enforce compliance with campaign laws.

“We say, 'Well, there is a requirement of the North Dakota Century Code,'” Howe said. “If you believe the law has been broken, you must contact the district attorney of the county where you believe this crime was committed.”

Recently, allegations of election fraud in North Dakota were brought before federal authorities.

Julie Fedorchak's campaign filed a complaint with the U.S. Election Commission and the U.S. Communications Commission earlier this month after mass text messages were sent to North Dakota residents on primary day falsely claiming that she had dropped out of the race for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A North Dakota resident filed an FEC complaint against Rep. Brandon Prichard (R-Bismarck) in May, alleging he may have engaged in campaign finance activities that violated federal election law. Prichard has denied any wrongdoing. The status of the complaint is not public.

The 2018 constitutional amendment that created the Ethics Commission allows the body to issue rules related to elections, lobbying, corruption and transparency to enforce ethical conduct among state officials.

Under the Constitution, the Ethics Commission can investigate alleged violations of its own rules, the Constitutional Amendment or “related laws of the State.”

However, the Commission's ability to investigate complaints about election campaigns is still very limited. For example, it has not yet adopted any rules on campaign ethics.

North Dakota has campaign ethics laws – most of which provide misdemeanor penalties – that could fall under the definition of “related state laws” under the constitutional amendment. But because the commission has no law enforcement authority, it cannot investigate alleged criminal law violations, Binstock said.

However, there are other ways to handle complaints. For example, the Ethics Committee may work with the complainant and the accused to resolve the complaint informally.

If a complaint alleges a criminal offense, the Ethics Committee is required by law to refer the allegation to a prosecutor.

Prosecutors have discretion as to whether or not to charge someone with a crime. Binstock noted during the meeting that by the time an ethics charge lands on a prosecutor's desk, they're likely already dealing with a heavy caseload.

A May 10 letter obtained by the North Dakota Monitor shows that Binstock forwarded a complaint about a campaign for a state legislature seat to Burleigh County Attorney Julie Lawyer. The attorney did not respond to requests for comment, and Binstock is unable to comment on specific complaints.

If a prosecutor declines to file charges related to an ethics complaint, the case is referred back to the commission. However, because the commission has neither the power to file charges nor election rules, its staff may not be able to investigate the complaint.

“If the Ethics Committee does not have an appropriate ethics rule, we are left with a criminal law on the basis of which the Ethics Committee cannot conduct investigations,” said Binstock.

During the meeting, the commission gave staff the green light to begin drafting election rules. The draft will likely be presented to the commission for review sometime in the next few months, Binstock said.

In 2018, Burleigh County prosecutors charged Bismarck legislative candidate Duane Sand with a misdemeanor for falsely stating the voting record of his opponent, George Keiser, in a campaign ad. The charge, publishing false information in political ads, was prompted by a police report from Keiser and a prosecutor's determination that the act met the felony requirements, The Bismarck Tribune reported.

Sand later filed a police report accusing Keiser and others of breaking the same law. The charges against Sand were dropped after all parties reached a private settlement and agreed not to pursue the complaints any further.

This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com.