Press Release: South Dakota Legislative Committee Approves Bill to Restrict Ballot Initiative Process
For Immediate Release
February 13, 2025
Contact:
Matthew Schweich
Voter Defense Association of South Dakota
(605) 610-8396
info@vdasd.org
South Dakota Legislative Committee Approves Bill to Restrict Ballot Initiative Process
HJR 5006 would prohibit ballot initiatives in consecutive elections that have “substantially similar” subjects
Pierre, SD – Yesterday afternoon, the House State Affairs Committee voted 11-2 to advance House Joint Resolution 5006, which proposes an amendment to the state constitution that would prohibit future ballot initiatives when a “substantially similar” initiative failed at the previous general election.
“HJR 5006 is an open-ended invitation to politicians and lawyers to interfere in South Dakota’s initiative process,” said Matthew Schweich, chairman of the Voter Defense Association of South Dakota, a political organization working to defeat HJR 5006. “The wording of the proposed amendment is unacceptably broad and concerningly vague.”
HJR 5006 would prohibit a ballot initiative if it is determined to “directly or indirectly” address the same subject and has a “substantially similar” purpose as an initiative that failed at the previous general election.
“This amendment gives the judiciary too much power over the initiative process,” added Schweich. “It would significantly weaken the constitutional ballot initiative rights of South Dakota voters.”
HJR 5006 now heads to the South Dakota House floor. If enacted by both the House and Senate, the proposed ban on repeat initiatives would be placed on the November 2026 ballot for South Dakota voters to approve or reject.
Zebadiah Johnson, Political Director for the Voter Defense Association of South Dakota, testified in Pierre at the House State Affairs Committee hearing.
“This resolution places undue restrictions on initiated amendments compared to legislatively-referred amendments,” Zebadiah Johnson testified. “This resolution seeks to limit the people’s power to submit amendments while not placing that same restriction on the Legislature.”
The Voter Defense Association of South Dakota is continuing to monitor other legislation that would affect South Dakota’s ballot initiative process. 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.”
Learn more at www.vdasd.org
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