Press Release: Voter Advocacy Group Releases Legislative Scorecard for Bills Impacting Ballot Initiative Process
For Immediate Release
April 29, 2025
Contact:
Quincy Hanzen
Voter Defense Association of South Dakota
(605) 301-0551
info@vdasd.org
PRESS RELEASE:
Voter Advocacy Group Releases Legislative Scorecard for Bills Impacting Ballot Initiative Process
The Voter Defense Association of South Dakota evaluated 51 separate votes on 12 pieces of legislation and assigned each state legislator a grade based on their voting record
View all legislator grades here
View the complete scorecard here
Sioux Falls, SD – In the aftermath of a legislative session in Pierre that saw numerous attacks on the ballot initiative process, the Voter Defense Association of South Dakota (“VDA-SD”) today released its 2025 Legislative Scorecard.
“We want South Dakota voters to know exactly where their state legislators stand when it comes to preserving the ballot initiative rights enshrined in our state constitution,” said VDA-SD President Matthew Schweich. “This is particularly important given that South Dakota has seen more legislative attacks on the initiative process this year than any other state in the country.”
The scorecard evaluates 51 votes, including both full chamber and committee actions, on 12 pieces of legislation. The VDA-SD opposed eight of those bills and supported the other four.
“This scorecard is an honest and qualitative analysis of the 2025 legislative session,” said Schweich. “Most South Dakotans do not have the time to research every vote cast by their state legislators on bills affecting the ballot initiative process, so we did that work for them.”
The VDA-SD issued a full report to accompany the 2025 Legislative Scorecard. The report explains the methodology behind the scorecard and provides detailed information on each of the twelve bills. The report is available here.
Five South Dakota state legislators received an A+ grade: Sen. Kyle Schoenfish, Sen. David Wheeler, Sen. Michael Rohl, Rep. Nicole Uhre-Balk, and Rep. Kadyn Wittman.
Eleven state legislators received an A or A- grade.
Eleven state legislators received B or C grades.
The remaining 78 state legislators received D or F grades.
“There is certainly room for improvement,” added Schweich. “We look forward to working with the legislature during the next session in Pierre and we hope that our 2026 scorecard features more As and fewer Fs.”
[END]