PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — A group is urging that Gov. Larry Rhoden veto legislation that would require proposed amendments to the South Dakota Constitution to have a substantial number of signatures from all 35 of the state’s Senate districts in order to reach the statewide ballot.
The legislation in question is House Bill 1169. It says petitions proposing constitutional amendments must have signatures from voters “equal in number to at least five percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the senatorial district at the last gubernatorial election.”
The legislation keeps the current requirement from the South Dakota Constitution that the total number of signatures on the petition equals at least 10% of the total votes cast for governor in the last gubernatorial election.
Josie Harms, who is press secretary for the Republican governor, told KELOLAND News in an email on Thursday, “The Governor has about 60 bills left to sign, and he will announce his decision on that specific bill in the coming days.”
The group, Voter Defense Association of South Dakota, issued a statement on Thursday pointing out what its chairman, Matthew Schweich, says is a fatal flaw. Schweich, who led unsuccessful ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana in 2022 and 2024, told KELOLAND News that the 2022 gubernatorial election results weren’t reported for each Senate district.
“Results were only reported on a precinct and county basis,” the group’s statement said. “Therefore, it is currently impossible to know the exact number of signatures required in each state senate district for a proposed 2026 initiated amendment. This would create a severe and unfair hardship for South Dakotans seeking to exercise their rights under Article 23 of the state constitution.”
Article 23 is the constitutional provision allowing voters to petition for constitutional amendments.
The VDA statement continued, “Furthermore, it is unclear how the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office would evaluate petitions submitted for proposed 2026 initiated amendments given that the 2022 gubernatorial results were never officially reported by the legislative district.”
KELOLAND News emailed a request for additional information on Thursday morning to South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson, as well as her deputy and the state elections directors. We’ll let you know more when we receive a response.
HB 1169’s prime sponsors are Republican Rep. Rebecca Reimers and Republican Sen. Tom Pischke. Among the co-sponsors were the House speaker and speaker pro tem, Republicans Jon Hansen and Karla Lems, as well as the Senate’s top three Republicans, Chris Karr, Jim Mehlhaff and Carl Perry.
Lawmakers can override a governor’s veto. To do so requires a two-thirds majority in each chamber: 47 in the House and 24 in the Senate.
HB 1169 raced through the House 60-9, then met resistance in the Senate but eventually passed 19-15 after being amended. The House ultimately agreed with the Senate version 63-6.
So far, Gov. Rhoden has vetoed one piece of legislation, House Bill 1132, that sought to expand eligibility for child care workers to receive federally-funded assistance for care of their children. The House sustained the veto.
The Legislature is scheduled to return to the Capitol on March 31 to consider any additional vetoes or handle other unfinished business.
