Press Release: SD House Committee Advances Legislation Restricting Ballot Initiatives

For Immediate Release
January 17, 2025

Contact:
Matthew Schweich
Chairman
Voter Defense Association of South Dakota
info@vdasd.org

SD House Committee Advances Legislation Restricting Ballot Initiatives

HJR 5003 would ask voters to approve a 60% supermajority requirement for future constitutional amendments

Pierre, SD – This morning, the House State Affairs Committee voted 11-2 to advance House Joint Resolution 5003, which would ask voters to approve a 60% requirement for passing future constitutional amendments including ballot initiatives. Currently, constitutional amendments require a simple majority for approval.

The Voter Defense Association of South Dakota, a nonpartisan political organization that works to defend the ballot initiative rights of South Dakota voters, strongly opposes HJR 5003.

“Requiring a 60% supermajority to amend the Constitution would radically restrict the constitutional ballot initiative rights of South Dakota voters,” said VDA political director Zebadiah Johnson, who testified in Pierre before the House State Affairs Committee. “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.“

HJR 5003 now heads to the House floor. If enacted by both the House and Senate, the proposed 60% supermajority requirement would be placed on the November 2026 ballot for South Dakota voters to approve or reject.

The legislature is considering this resolution despite the fact that South Dakota voters have repeatedly rejected similar supermajority proposals in recent years.

“In 2018, Amendment X, which proposed a 55% supermajority requirement, failed with only 46% of the vote. In 2022, Amendment C, which proposed a 60% supermajority requirement for any ballot question creating a tax or fee or requiring the state to appropriate $10 million or more in any of the first five fiscal years after enactment, failed with only 33% of the vote,” said Johnson.

Supporters of HJR 5003 cited the role of out-of-state political spending as a reason to support the proposal even though raising the threshold for passing constitutional amendments would have no impact on South Dakota’s campaign finance laws.

“It is disingenuous to cite campaign finance reform as a reason for establishing a 60% supermajority requirement,” said VDA chairman Matthew Schweich. “These are two separate issues. If the legislature is concerned about out-of-state spending on ballot initiatives, then they should be discussing legislation that strengthens South Dakota campaign finance laws instead of advancing a proposal that permanently weakens the ability of South Dakota voters to make decisions regarding their state constitution.”

Originally, HJR 5003 proposed a two-thirds supermajority requirement. At the start of this morning’s hearing, the resolution was amended to establish a 60% threshold instead.

“It was concerning to watch legislators amend their proposed threshold without rigorous debate on the merits of each type of supermajority requirement,” said Schweich. “Permanent changes to the state constitution, especially those affecting the ability of voters to make critical decisions, deserve more thoughtful and deliberative consideration.”

The following State Representatives voted in favor of HJR 5003: Rep. Jessica Bahmuller (District 19), Rep. Spencer Gosch (District 23), Speaker of the House Rep. Jon Hansen (District 25), House Majority Whip Rep. Leslie Heinemann (District 25), House Majority Whip Rep. Greg Jamison (District 12), and Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Karla Lems (District 16), Majority Leader Rep. Scott Odenbach (District 31), Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Marty Overweg (District 21), Rep. Tim Reisch (District 8), Majority Whip Rep. Brandei Schaefbauer (District 3), and Majority Whip Rep. Bethany Soye (District 9).

The following State Representatives voted against HJR 5003: House Minority Leader Rep. Erin Healy (District 10) and House Assistant Minority Leader Rep. Eric Emery (District 26A).

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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