SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – A lawsuit has been filed against a new petition deadline passed by state lawmakers and signed into law last week by Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden.
House Bill 1184 passed the House 59-9 and passed the Senate 19-15 before being signed into law by Rhoden on March 25. The bill amends the filing deadline for proposed ballot measures from six months ahead of a November election to nine months ahead of a November election.
Attorney Jim Leach, Rick Weiland and Dakotans for Health filed a lawsuit against South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson in federal court on Tuesday asking a judge to stop the nine month deadline from going into effect. A notice of the lawsuit has also been sent to Johnson’s office.
“The rollback means that petition circulators must seek final signatures nine months before an election instead of six months before an election, when there is less interest in political matters because the election is farther away,” the lawsuit said.
No deadlines or hearings have been set in this case.
It also cites a previous ruling in the case SD Voice v. Noem where South Dakota’s 12-month deadline was struck down as a violation of the First Amendment.
Weiland and Dakotans for Health have won in court against state lawmakers before with a state law requiring registration for paid petition circulators.
What is House Bill 1184?
In proponent testimony in favor of House Bill 1184, Republican Rep. Jon Hansen said courts struck down the 12-month deadline, but the state’s six-month deadline, passed in 2023, wasn’t long enough to complete petition signature verifications.
“We’re not going outside of the bounds of what’s currently being conducted in other states,” Hansen said in a House State Affairs Committee meeting on Feb. 7 in Pierre.
Hansen helped South Dakota lawmakers pass a law allowing people to remove a signature from a petition.
Zebadiah Johnson, a lobbyist with the Voter Defense Association, testified only the state of Florida would have an earlier filing deadline for direct initiative ballot measures.
In a news release announcing HB 1184 was signed into law, Rhoden also announced his veto of another petition-related bill in HB 1169 and that he signed 20 other election-related bills.
“South Dakota continues to be an example of free and fair elections. Our election system has integrity, and these bills improve our already strong system,” Rhoden said in a news release. “America is founded on the principle of freedom, and I am proud that we live in a nation and a state where we can choose our leaders.”
Rhoden said a reason for issuing a veto on HB 1169 was because he was concerned the bill wouldn’t “withstand scrutiny in the courts.”
