VDA Testimony to SD Senate State Affairs Committee Hearing on Feb 28 in Opposition to HB 1244

On February 28, I testified (in person) before the SD Senate State Affairs Committee in Pierre and delivered the following statement in opposition to House Bill 1244:

“Good morning Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. 

My name is Zebadiah Johnson. I'm from Garretson, South Dakota, and I'm here on behalf of the Voter Defense Association of South Dakota as their political director and lobbyist. We oppose HB 1244 as written, including version E, but believe that a compromise is possible on this legislation.

As a matter of public policy, we do oppose signature withdrawal for initiatives. I have shared a one-pager that explains our position more fully. I will focus on specifics here.

Furthermore, we believe that any legislation that changes the initiative process through an emergency clause during the final few months of signature gathering should be held to a very high standard, given the risk of disruption and litigation. In our opinion, the issue of signature withdrawal does not meet that standard.

However, we do acknowledge that HB 1244E as amended is a significant improvement on the original bill.

We also believe in compromise. As such, we would be willing to support HB 1244 if version 1244E were further amended to read as follows, regarding the deadline:

For a written notification to withdraw a signature to be valid under this section, an individual must submit the written notification to the secretary of state at any time before the sponsors file the petition signatures with the secretary of state.

By making this change, the policy would be balanced. Withdrawing a signature would be held to the same standards as collecting a signature. Both would be on notarized forms, both would be submitted as hard copies, and – most importantly – both would have the same timeline.

So, as I said, we oppose a signature withdrawal policy. But if you are to create one, then at least make it fair.

Thank you.”

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