Campaigns for North Dakota's lineup of three statewide ballot measures have been generally low-key, even though two initiatives affect private property rights and child custody laws.

A few billboards and yard signs have been put up on both sides of the proposed child-custody law, which would give divorcing parents joint custody of their children unless one parent was able to prove the other was unfit.

The property initiative, which is intended to block the state and local governments from forcing the sale of land for economic development projects, has touched off some arguments from city and county organizations, and little else.

The most obscure ballot measure was put there by the Legislature - a constitutional amendment that would allow changes in the state Land Department's management of 13 trust funds, including a $760 million-plus fund that benefits North Dakota's schools.

At present, the North Dakota Constitution's language treats interest payments and some other types of earnings differently from investment gains on sales of stock and other assets, said Gary Preszler, the state land commissioner.

The restrictions have caused more money to be funneled into the permanent trust funds, and less is distributed to beneficiaries, Preszler said.

In the last 10 years, trust assets have risen about 80 percent, while distributions have only increased about 6 percent, he said. Under the proposed change, payments would rise in sync with the growth of a trust fund's assets.

"With this change, it doesn't matter where the money comes from," Preszler said. "A dollar is a dollar."

Advocates on both sides of the property-rights proposal (Measure No. 2) and the child-custody measure (No. 3) have relied mostly on Web sites to spread their message.

The Web site for Measure 3, which supporters call the Shared Parenting Initiative, includes links to documents outlining the measure's objectives, a dispute about its potential cost, and to videos supportive of joint custody in divorces.

The North Dakota Children's Caucus, which is opposing the measure, includes the image of a billboard showing a drawing of a child next to a suitcase, accompanied by the message, "Where Do I Sleep Tonight?"

The caucus contends that the measure will result in the shuttling of children between divorced parents, to their detriment.