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Revised November 2006
History
South Dakota has the distinction of being the first state in the Union to provide for popular initiative and referendum for enacting and rejecting legislation. This was accomplished by constitutional amendment approved in 1898. These two forms of direct legislation, first used in 1908, rest on the theory that since the legislature may not always adequately represent them, the people should be able to pass laws they desire and nullify laws they oppose.
In 1972 the state constitution was amended to allow constitutional changes by initiative as well.
In 1988 the state's voters changed the state constitution to eliminate a requirement that an initiative be submitted to the legislature for approval before placement on the ballot.
Types of Ballot Questions
Initiated Measure: This is a petition to add to, amend, or repeal existing state statutes. Initiative petitions must be filed in the office of the Secretary of State by the first Tuesday in April of a general election year (SDCL 2-1-2). The petition must have signatures of registered voters equal to five percent (16,776) of the total vote for governor in the last gubernatorial election obtained within one year following the filing of the full text of the petition. No signatures may be obtained more than 19 months preceding the election date designated on the petition.
Referred Law: This is a petition to prevent a measure passed by the Legislature from becoming effective. It must have signatures of registered voters equal to five percent (16,776) of the total vote for governor in the last gubernatorial election and must be filed within 90 days of adjournment of the legislative session in which the measure was passed (SDCL 2-1-4). Measures which may be necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions are not subject to referendum (SD Const., Art. III, Sec. 1).
Initiated Constitutional Amendment: This is a petition proposing to amend, repeal, or add to provisions in the South Dakota state constitution. The petition must have signatures of registered voters equal to ten percent (33,551) of the total vote for governor in the last gubernatorial election and must be filed in the Secretary of State's office one year before the general election (SD Const., Art. XXIII, Sec. 1). No signatures may be obtained more than 24 months preceding the election date designated on the petition.
General Information
The sponsors of any initiated measure or constitutional amendment must submit that text to the director of the legislative research council who will within 15 days provide written comments on the measure to the sponsors and the secretary of state. The comments must be received by the secretary of state prior to filing the measure's full text (SDCL 12-13-25 & SDCL 12-13-26).
The full text of any petition to be circulated, the date of the general election at which the question is to be submitted, a short title that will be used by the petition sponsors during the circulation process, and the names and addresses of the petition sponsors shall be filed with the secretary of state prior to circulation for signatures (SDCL 2-1-5). No signatures obtained before that filing date will be counted.
All sections of any completed ballot question petition shall be filed simultaneously together with a sworn affidavit prescribed by the State Board of Elections signed by two-thirds of the sponsors.
How to circulate a ballot question petition pamphlet
2008 Deadlines
November 5, 2007 Deadline for filing constitutional amendment petition.
April 1, 2008 Deadline for filing initiated measure petition.
Statistics
Forty-seven initiatives have been on the ballot. Eighteen of these have passed for a 38.3% success rate.
Forty-three laws have been referred with 36 of these being rejected for a 83.7% success rate.
Two hundred twenty-two constitutional amendments have been on the ballot. One hundred thirteen have been adopted for a 50.9% success rate. Thirteen of these proposed amendments were initiated by the people with five of these passing. The other 209 amendments were proposed by the legislature.
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