A group is urging Gov. Larry Rhoden to veto a bill changing the petition gathering process for constitutional amendments.
They say if Rhoden doesn’t veto the bill, they’re prepared to lead a referred law campaign against it.
Voter Defense Association, or VDA, the League of Women Voters, former Democrat Sen. Reynold Nesiba and current Republican Sen. Michael Rohl are opposing the bill, saying it has a “fatal flaw.”
The legislation requires signatures from every legislative district, and how many is determined by the calculation of the number of votes cast in each district in the last gubernatorial election. While the Secretary of State’s office doesn’t report these numbers, the required totals can theoretically be calculated. The group called the effort required of petition gatherers “an incredible burden.”
Matthew Schweich is the president of VDA. He said because of this, it changes the rules in the middle of the game for petition gatherers currently at work.
“If the state is going to create a really heavy-handed restriction on the initiated process, the least they can do is provide clarity as to how to comply with that law," Schweich said. "Any current 2026 Initiated Amendment, and there are some already filed that could start circulating, they have no idea how many signatures to get."
If signed, it would impact all proposed 2026 constitutional amendments, except for the ones lawmakers approved during session.
Schweich claims the bill’s geographic requirements would be “the most extreme in the nation.” Colorado is the only state requiring senatorial district data, but only 2% are needed from each district. South Dakota’s would be 5% under this bill.
Proponents argue the current process excludes less populated areas, unlike other states that allow changes to their constitutions.
Nesiba said South Dakota shouldn’t follow other states, because it’s not like other states.
“I think in some states maybe it makes sense by Congressional district. But we have one Congressional district. Right? I mean, we’re about 900,000 people," Nesiba said. "There’s plenty of suburbs that are bigger than that around the country, and so this is already a pretty small thing. Trying to impose a geographic requirement on such a small population is unworkable, it’s unfair, it’s unnecessary."
The governor has until March 28 to sign HB 1169 into law. If he does – the group has until July 1 to collect signatures to refer the law to a public vote.
Gov. Rhoden’s office said “he will announce his decision on it in the coming days.”
