Press Release: SD Legislators Advance Controversial Change to Ballot Initiative Process

For Immediate Release
February 14, 2024

Contact:
Matthew Schweich
Chairman
Voter Defense Association of South Dakota
(605) 496-9919
info@vdasd.org

SD Legislators Advance Controversial Change to Ballot Initiative Process

HB 1244 would allow voters to withdraw their signatures from initiative petitions

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

Pierre, SD – Earlier today, the House State Affairs Committee advanced legislation that would change South Dakota’s ballot initiative process by allowing voters to withdraw their signatures from petitions that they had previously signed. House Bill 1244 now heads to the House floor.

“We want South Dakotans to know that legislators in Pierre are once again trying to interfere with the ballot initiative process,” said Matthew Schweich, chairman of the Voter Defense Association of South Dakota, a group opposing the bill.

Unlike most legislation, House Bill 1244 includes an emergency clause, which means it would take effect immediately and apply to all active signature gathering campaigns in South Dakota.

“House Bill 1244 declares an emergency where none exists and makes a significant change to South Dakota’s signature gathering process with less than three months before the petition deadline on May 7,” Schweich added.

Zebadiah Johnson, political director and lobbyist for the Voter Defense Association of South Dakota, testified in Pierre and urged legislators to reject the bill. He noted that the withdrawal policy would be the most wide open of any state in the country by allowing signatures to be withdrawn even after a petition has been certified for the ballot. He also reminded the committee that voters already have a remedy in cases where they regret their decision to sign.

“Signing a petition is not a concrete show of support for the policy being proposed,” Johnson added. “It means that the question is important enough to be submitted to the voters of South Dakota. If you oppose a ballot question, you always have the option of voting no in November.”

The Voter Defense Association of South Dakota is a nonpartisan political organization based in Sioux Falls, SD. Its mission is to “defend the ballot initiative rights of South Dakota voters and ensure that laws and regulations governing electoral processes in South Dakota are reasonable, fair, and transparent.”

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