“Our system gives every South Dakota voter an equal voice when deciding important policy questions, or whether we should vote on a question at all – and this geographic distribution requirement would give voters in a single district the power to deny a statewide vote on a citizen-initiated amendment.”

“Moving the filing deadline farther from the election makes initiative efforts less relevant to the voters. Circulating closer to the election presents voters with policies closer to when they could potentially decide them.”

“South Dakota’s signature validation process should set out clear and unambiguous requirements. Respectfully, we do not think that HB 1256 meets that standard.”

“HJR 5003 is an attack on the viability of citizen-initiated constitutional amendments in South Dakota and an unjustified attempt to enable minority rule in our state. Therefore, we urge you to oppose this resolution.”

“It's a sound policy for South Dakota’s initiative process. The bill increases consistency within types of petitions and aligns petition content with what voters see when casting their ballot on an issue after it has qualified.”

“This bill would clear up any remaining ambiguities after that determination by the attorney general and protect our initiative process from out-of-state actors attempting to use our process as a vehicle for federal litigation. And this, I believe, was the case last year that the attorney general addressed.”

“We consider this a technical fix, hoping to bring more consistency to our initiative process. Since 2018, when the single subject rule was created for initiated amendments and initiated state statutes, the legislature has gradually worked at implementing the statutory framework for that single-subject rule to ensure compliance. At the moment, this includes a pre-circulation single-subject review for initiated amendments to the Constitution but does not include single-subject review for initiated measures.”

“As the prime sponsor noted, our system of electoral democracy depends on having a shared reality, in which voters make informed decisions with which they cast their votes. Deepfakes pose a real and substantial threat to that shared reality, especially as that technology advances and becomes more convincing, it will become increasingly difficult for citizens to discern reality from fiction when it comes to politics.”

“My testimony will be relatively short for you today. It will be this main point: if adopted, HB 1267 WILL lead to litigation against the state. If the state ends up losing [that lawsuit], even at the Supreme Court, taxpayers will be on the hook for those costs.

“…we believe voters deserve accurate, up-to-date information when deciding ballot questions, and that is not currently the case in some situations, as previously stated. “

“We feel that [SB 188] introduces needless hurdles into our absentee voting system. I’d like to note that of our neighboring states, only Minnesota requires an excuse to vote absentee.”

“In your body, there is no restriction on bringing the same legislation year after year, even if that legislation is continually deferred to the 41st day. In the same way as a defeated bill, a defeated initiative is not without merit. If the people of South Dakota decide to petition their government for change, they should be allowed to do so.”

“Overall, SB 92 is a bill that increases consistency within South Dakota’s initiative process, and has potential to prevent legal battles that are expensive for the state and decrease the initiative process’s legitimacy and reliability in voters’ eyes.”

“This bill creates a system where petitions are single-sheet, easily identifiable pages that include the exact same information voters use when casting their ballots on a ballot question, which is not currently the case. To us, increased consistency and transparency in our initiative process is beneficial for all parties involved in the process.”

“When it comes to voting on a ballot initiative or choosing a Governor or a Senator, we make those decisions as a state. Additionally, nominating petitions for a statewide or federal office do not require signatures to come from diverse regions around the state. The signature gathering process, which is already very difficult, should not deviate from the principle of one person, one vote (or in this case, one person one signature).”

“South Dakota’s initiative process works well and is in line with initiative policies around the country. We view this change as a solution without a problem and would ask you to oppose this bill. ”

“HJR 5003 is an attack on the viability of citizen-initiated constitutional amendments in South Dakota and an unjustified attempt to take power away from the people. Therefore, we urge you to oppose this resolution. Thank you for hearing my testimony today.”

“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.”

“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.”