North Dakota's fall lineup of ballot measures could be the most contentious in years, with proposals to regulate biotech wheat, require voter approval for tax increases and reaffirm a state ban on same-sex marriage.

The question is whether any of the three initiative petition drives will be able to gather enough signatures to make the November ballot.

Even a proposed North Dakota constitutional amendment to limit marriage recognition to one man and one woman may have difficulty reaching its minimum of 25,688 petition signatures, despite support from dozens of churches and the North Dakota Catholic Conference.

On Saturday, the marriage amendment petition had 5,822 signatures in hand, according to the North Dakota Family Alliance, which is coordinating the drive. Normally, initiative campaign organizers also try to get a few thousand extra signatures, in case some names are disqualified when the petitions are reviewed by the secretary of state.

Organizers also begin the job of gathering petitions days before the submission deadline, to allow them to be collated, the signatures counted and the documents themselves checked for mistakes.

"It's not an easy job," said Charlene Nelson of Casselton, who has been active in gathering signatures for the tax measure.

All three initiatives must be turned in to Secretary of State Al Jaeger's office by midnight Aug. 3. The North Dakota Family Alliance is asking activists to mail in their petitions by July 23, while the state Catholic Conference is advising that they be turned in to the alliance's Bismarck office by July 26, two weeks from Monday.

The Catholic Conference, which represents Roman Catholic churches in North Dakota on public policy issues, has asked priests to make the petitions available and urge parishioners to sign them.

The marriage and tax proposals are both constitutional amendments, which require petition signatures from at least 25,688 North Dakota voters to get on the November ballot.

The tax initiative would require state government and local governments - from county commissions to school boards - to get 60 percent voter approval before raising taxes.

The signature threshold is smaller for the biotech wheat initiative because it is a state law instead of a constitutional amendment. The petition, which would give North Dakota's agriculture commissioner power to decide whether to allow commercial planting of genetically modified wheat, needs at least 12,844 signatures.

Nelson said the tax measure's prospects for a November ballot appearance were "50-50." Several activists who are skilled at gathering petition signatures have not been available for the drive, she said.

Summaries of initiated measures now being circulated

* BIOTECH WHEAT: Gives North Dakota's agriculture commissioner power to decide whether to allow commercial planting of genetically modified wheat seed. Requires the commissioner to establish an advisory board and hold at least one public hearing to explore issues raised by the introduction of biotech wheat. The measure, a proposed state law, needs at least 12,844 petition signatures from North Dakota voters to get on the ballot.

* MARRIAGE: Defines marriage as the union of a man and woman, and says no other domestic arrangement will have the "same or substantially equivalent legal effect." It would bar recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions for homosexual couples. The measure, a proposed constitutional amendment, needs at least 25,688 signatures from North Dakota voters to get on the ballot.

* TAXES: Requires state and local governments to get 60 percent approval from their voters before imposing a tax increase. The measure, a proposed constitutional amendment, needs at least 25,688 signatures from North Dakota voters to get on the ballot.