State Feed: South Dakota

South Dakota: Ballot measure suit from union group

Wed, 26 May 2010 12:12:08 -0400

A labor agency goes to court today in Pierre as it sues state officials over a ballot issue in the November election. The South Dakota State Federation of Labor objects to how Attorney General Marty Jackley explains a constitutional amendment concerning how employees in a workplace may join a union. A hearing begins at 1:30 p.m. today before Circuit Judge John Brown in the Hughes County Courthouse.

Read the story from the Argus Leader

South Dakota: Registered but inactive voters can sign petition

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:51:17 -0500

State senators changed legislation Thursday so that registered voters who have been inactive would still have the right to sign petitions to put a constitutional amendment, initiative or referendum on the South Dakota election ballot. The legislation, Senate Bill 13, contains a variety of changes in South Dakota election laws. It now heads to the House of Representatives for a committee hearing and possible action by the full House.

Read the story from The Daily Republic

Investigation into initiative donor will be dropped

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:21:53 -0500

In 2006, South Dakota had an initiative on the ballot to ban virtually all abortions. An anonymous donor had contributed $750,000 to get the initiative on the ballot and to carry on the campaign for it. The measure lost, 46% to 54%. Also in 2006, the South Dakota Secretary of State had sued the campaign committee set up to promote the initiative to learn the identity of the committee’s donor.

Voter turnout could be higher with smoking ban measure on ballot

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:45:34 -0500

South Dakota’s voter turnout for next November’s election could be a lot different than past years. A local political science professor says a smoking ban on that ballot would likely lure more people to the polls. He says that could have an impact on other initiatives and political races.

Read the story from Keloland Television

Group forms to oppose a ballot measure in South Dakota

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:43:46 -0500

A new group is forming in opposition to the idea of bringing embryonic stem cell research back to a South Dakota ballot. The Coalition for Cures Not Cloning is the new group. They say they’ll be making an official announcement Thursday. The group will be planning efforts to fight a 2010 initiative that would reverse the current ban on cloning and embryonic stem cell research.

Read the story from KSFY

Stem cell initiative drive in South Dakota getting positive reponse

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:27:55 -0400

In a drive to get an initiative before voters in 2010 that would allow embryonic stem cell research in South Dakota, David Volk is convinced he has tapped into a wellspring of enthusiasm. “For 40 years I’ve been in South Dakota politics in one form or another. I’ve never been involved in a campaign for a candidate or an issue campaign where I’ve had this response,” says the former state treasurer, who suffered from cancer, an area of inquiry for stem cell research.

Legal fight over South Dakota ballot measure signatures

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:42:05 -0400

The legal battle over South Dakota’s strengthened smoking ban focuses on a judge’s decision about whether technical errors were substantial enough to toss out more than 25,000 petition signatures calling for a statewide public vote on the issue. Bars and gambling businesses that oppose the ban collected signatures to force a public vote in the November 2010 election, but Secretary of State Chris Nelson eventually rejected the petitions, ruling that too few valid signatures were submitted. The petitions fell 221 signatures short of qualifying for the ballot, he said.

Honoring the Voters' Will In South Dakota

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:33:12 -0400

The fight continues in South Dakota over banning smoking in state bars and restaurants. The focus is now on how referendum petitions were notarized, and the voices of over 2000 voters could be silenced in the debate.

Previous failed amendment helps supporters of petition currently circulating

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:40:10 -0400

Questions raised over the smoking ban petition are a lesson for another group hoping to get its initiative on the ballot. With 7,500 signatures, the petition to bring the issue of legalizing medical marijuana to a state-wide vote is well on its way. “The pace has really picked up, and I’m very confident we’ll meet our goal of 25,000 signatures by the end of August,” Petition Coordinator Emmett Reistroffer said.

Read the story from Keloland Television

Claim of insufficient signatures stalls smoking ban vote in South Dakota

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:08:49 -0400

Circuit Judge Mark Barnett issued an order Monday preventing South Dakota’s expanded smoking ban from taking effect until a legal fight is decided over whether there should be a statewide vote. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Chris Nelson said Monday that another step might be necessary in the future to cover a gap in the random-sample process South Dakota uses for checking signatures on ballot-measure petitions. That gap is a key in the dispute over whether there can be a statewide vote on the ban which was passed by the Legislature last winter.

Enough signatures for smoking ban law to be referred to the 2010 ballot

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:16:56 -0400

South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson confirmed last Thursday that sufficient signatures had been collected and submitted to refer a law banning smoking to the November 2010 ballot. Both the S.D. House and Senate passed HB 1240 by a wide margins and Governor Mike Rounds signed the bill into law on March 30. HB 1240 “prohibits smoking or carrying lighted tobacco products in certain places and to require certain persons to inform violators of the prohibition.”

South Dakota town's manure removal issue still unsettled

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:30:35 -0400

The Hot Springs City Council accepted a municipal initiative petition at its April 6 meeting, which will place the issue of the Martin Dahl horse manure situation before the voters. Petition circulators gathered 193 signatures according to city finance officer Cheryl Wait, far surpassing the five percent of registered voters needed.

Read the story from the Hot Springs Star

Medical Marijuana supporters gathering signatures for ballot in South Dakota

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:15:12 -0400

The South Dakota Legislature decided not to legalize medical marijuana earlier this year, but a new group is trying to bring it to a state-wide vote. Emmett Reistroffer is outside the Minnehaha County Administration Building every day asking one question: Would you mind signing a petition real quick?

Read the story from Keloland TV

Ballot Initiative deals with South Dakota city horse manure issue

Wed, 27 May 2009 17:55:27 -0400

Petition drive started for medical marijuana

Thu, 14 May 2009 12:59:20 -0400

One of the organizers of South Dakota petition drive that seeks to legalize marijuana for medical purposes has a personal reason for being involved.

Read the story from CBS13

This Referendum Is Horse Manure

Wed, 13 May 2009 12:17:11 -0400

From Joe Matthews at the Blockbuster Democracy Blog:

South Dakota Initiative Would Legalize Medical Marijuana

Tue, 05 May 2009 02:58:28 -0400

Supporters of a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana in South Dakota need to collect just over 16,000 signatures by April 6, 2010 to qualify for the ballot. A similar measure failed by just 2% in 2006.

Read the story from the Rapid City Journal

S.D. GOP Opposes Open Government Ballot Measure

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:37:19 -0400

Delegates to the Republican State Convention have approved a resolution urging voters to reject a ballot measure billed as an attempt to create a clean and open government.

The resolution opposing the ballot measure passed on a strong voice vote after some delegates said the proposed law would prevent many reputable organizations from lobbying the Legislature or local government, would bar thousands of people from donating to political campaigns and might be unconstitutional.

Ballot Measure Would Give South Dakotans More Government Information

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:38:56 -0400

An initiative to limit campaign contributions by people with government contracts and to create a public Web site for details of those contracts will be on the ballot in November. Advertisement

Secretary of State Chris Nelson certified what’s titled the Open and Clean Government Act for a spot on the ballot after he and his staff did a random check of 5 percent of the 26,000 or so signatures filed on petitions.

Abortion measure contemplated

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 08:44:16 -0500

South Dakota voters may be asked again next year to decide the issue of legalized abortions in the state.