The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Wednesday in a case short-titled South Dakota Voice versus Kristi L. Noem. In January this year, a federal judge ruled that 2019 legal restrictions on the ballot initiative process were unconstitutional. The governor, attorney general, and secretary of state challenged that ruling, even though that 2019 law has been replaced. Victoria Wicks reports on this appeal for SDPB.
Deputy Attorney General Jeff Tronvold doesn’t get too far into his argument before judges ask why they should not declare this lawsuit moot, considering that the 2019 law no longer exists.
Tronvold explains the new law, Senate Bill 180, that replaces the old one.
“We felt that it was more of a clarification, to fix the fact that Judge Kornmann’s definitions were extremely broad, where this clarify…I believe, it clarified the intent of the original bill.”
Tronvold tells judges that Judge Kornmann at trial disregarded the testimony of Representative Jon Hansen, called to establish the government’s interest in restricting petitioners.
Tronvold says Hansen had successfully challenged an initiated measure in the past because there were invalid signatures on a number of petitions carried by out-of-state residents.
SD VOICE attorney Jim Leach responds that Judge Kornmann had good reason not to accept Hansen’s testimony. He says the state representative testified that his interest was in clean and fair election processes, but he made out-of-court statements that revealed another objective.
“Before this lawsuit was ever filed, he’s out in public saying the purpose of HB 1094 is to keep out-of-state liberal ideas out of South Dakota.”
Leach says Hansen’s testimony proved that if there was a problem with petitions, the existing system was adequate to address it.
“It seems to me to a large extent what the state is asking the court to do is to speculate on the arguments that could be made for or against 180 and then resolve those arguments as a court of first impression, which I suspect this court is reluctant to do.”
The Eighth Circuit panel will issue an opinion in the future. The court will also decide what to do with a question Judge Kornmann did not answer having to do with petition deadlines.
- Follow Victoria Wicks on Twittter