"No-excuse absentee voting is the law in South Dakota, and, in theory, the process is relatively easy. A registered voter can apply for a mail ballot or show up at their county auditor’s office to cast their vote. In practice, however, in-person absentee voting can be difficult in South Dakota."

South Dakota’s voter registration rate – 82.5% of eligible voters are registered – is below the national average and ranks thirty-eighth out of the 51 states and Washington DC. How can our system improve?

“Almost two months ago, Governor Noem signed House Bill 1244 into law. The bill instituted a legal regime allowing South Dakotans who had signed an initiative petition to remove their signature from that petition. The VDA opposed the bill as bad policy...”

A recap of the Secretary of State’s Press Release regarding the four initiatives that submitted signatures for review.

Today, Governor Noem signed signature withdrawal into South Dakota law. This policy unnecessarily complicates the initiative process and provides the basis for "withdrawal campaigns".

The Voter Defense Association of South Dakota calls on Governor Noem to veto House Bill 1244 and reject signature withdrawal as policy.

The VDA was successful in drawing attention to HB 1244 and its hearing in the SD Senate State Affairs Committee, where the VDA opposed the bill alongside a coalition of allies.

The VDA’s on the ground update from Pierre as the Senate State Affairs Committee amends and then passes HB 1244. The signature withdrawal bill now heads to the full Senate.

“We believe that any legislation that changes the initiative process through an emergency clause during the final few months of signature gathering should be held to a very high standard, given the risk of disruption and litigation. In our opinion, the issue of signature withdrawal does not meet that standard.”

Today, the VDA was proud to join the “Protect our Democracy Coalition” spearheaded by the League of Women Voters of South Dakota.

The VDA was successful in drawing attention to HB 1244 and its hearing in the SD House State Affairs Committee, where the VDA was the only organization to testify in opposition to the bill.

Opponents say the bill is an unnecessary disruption to ongoing signature gathering campaigns and undermines the ballot initiative process

“We strongly urge you to reject House Bill 1244. This legislation would cause a sudden disruption to the signature gathering process and undermine the constitutional ballot initiative rights of the people of South Dakota.”

“In recent years, the South Dakota Legislature has unfortunately made a habit of passing legislation designed to curtail South Dakotans’ constitutional ballot initiative rights.”