VDA Testimony to SD Senate State Affairs Committee Hearing on March 5 in Opposition to HB 1169

On March 5, I testified before the SD Senate State Affairs Committee in Pierre and delivered the following statement in opposition to House Bill 1169:

“Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee.

My name is Zebadiah Johnson from Sioux Falls. I’m here on behalf of the Voter Defense Association of South Dakota and I’m testifying in opposition to HB 1169.

The VDA opposes HB 1169 because the process for qualifying an initiative for the ballot should reflect the fact that South Dakota voters decide ballot questions on a statewide basis. This 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. 

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).

Under this bill, a single district will hold power over the entire state. Not only is that possibility undemocratic, but an endorsement of minority rule. 

The majority of initiated amendments fail at the ballot box, that is a fact. Why then, do we need more and more regulations on the process to make it more difficult to reach the ballot at all? South Dakotans have held the constitutional right to the initiative for over a century and should not be deprived of opportunities to exercise that right via vote.

Thank you for hearing my testimony today.”

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