North Dakota’s Statehood Questioned After Constitutional Flaw Discovered

The statehood of North Dakota is in doubt after a resident found a flaw in the state Constitution 16 years ago that a senator is now trying to fix, a local news station has reported.

John Rolczynski, 82, argues that the original state Constitution is illegitimate because it doesn’t mention the executive branch, the governor and other top officials when explaining who needs to be sworn in – an omission that he says conflicts with the federal Constitution, according to Valley News Live.

State Sen. Tim Mathern unveiled a bill earlier this year to add the language, but North Dakota voters will have to approve the constitutional amendment in November 2012.

“I’m glad that I was able to see this thing corrected,” Rolczynski told Valley News. “It took 16 years for me, since 1995, to see the effort completed.”