MANDAN, ND (KFGO) – A North Dakota District Judge ruled Friday that Democratic Insurance Commissioner candidate Travisia Martin does not meet the residency requirements to run for public office in North Dakota.
Last month North Dakota’s Republican Party announced that they would challenge Martin’s eligibility after it was found out that she voted in Nevada during the 2016 election. They say it goes against her claim that she’s been a resident of North Dakota since 2015.
Martin, of Bismarck, has said she moved to North Dakota in 2015 and worked as a traveling critical care respiratory specialist. She said she also owned a home in Nevada at the time and considered herself a resident of both states.
Martin said she did vote in Nevada in 2016 but not in North Dakota. She said she claims only North Dakota residency now.
In the ruling dated August 14, 2020, District Court Judge Thomas Schneider says that Martin doesn’t meet the minimal requirement of 5 years.
“Because there has not been a showing that during the necessary timeframe Martin had a union of both act and intent to change her residence from Las Vegas, Nevada, and establish it in North Dakota, the Court finds Martin was not a North Dakota resident until sometime after November 2016…Martin will not have been a North Dakota resident for the five years preceding the 2020 general election.”
The case will now go back to The North Dakota Supreme Court, arguments were heard on both sides earlier this week.
Democrats endorsed Martin in March to run against Jon Godfread, who is seeking a second term. He was elected to the position in 2016.
A Democrat hasn’t headed North Dakota’s Insurance Department since 2000, and only three have served in the office since statehood.
