Campaign finance requirements for South Dakota ballot measures
 in South Dakota |
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Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in South Dakota must adhere to the state's campaign finance laws. These laws regulate the amounts and sources of money given or received for political purposes; in addition, campaign finance laws stipulate disclosure requirements for political contributions and expenditures.
Proponents of more stringent regulations and disclosure requirements, such as the Brennan Center for Justice, claim that current laws do not go far enough to mitigate corruption and the influence of undisclosed special interests. Others, such as the Institute for Free Speech, argue that strict disclosure requirements and contribution limits impinge upon the rights to privacy and free expression.[1][2]
| South Dakota state law defines a ballot question committee as "a person or organization that raises, collects or disburses contributions for the placement of a ballot question on the ballot or the adoption or defeat of any ballot question." Any person or organization may make unlimited contributions to a ballot question committee. |
The laws and regulations that apply to ballot measure campaigns may differ from those that apply to candidates for political office. To learn more about campaign finance requirements for candidates, see this article.
South Dakota ballot measures
- See also: Ballot measure
A ballot measure is any question or issue that appears on an election ballot to be approved or rejected by voters. In 26 states, plus Washington, D.C., citizens may use the initiative and referendum process, which permits citizens to petition to place measures on the ballot and usually involves a signature collection process of some kind. Even in states without initiative and referendum processes, however, ballot measures exist. In all states, citizens may be asked to approve legislatively referred constitutional amendments, state statutes, bond issues or tax proposals.
In South Dakota, ballot measures come in the following forms: legislatively referred state statutes, initiated state statutes, legislatively referred constitutional amendments, initiated constitutional amendments and veto referendums.
Organizational requirements
South Dakota state law defines a ballot question committee as "a person or organization that raises, collects or disburses contributions for the placement of a ballot question on the ballot or the adoption or defeat of any ballot question." A committee must file a statement of organization with the South Dakota Secretary of State within 15 days of receiving contributions or making expenditures exceeding $500. If a committee reaches this threshold within 30 days of an election, the statement of organization must be filed within 48 hours of doing so.[3][4]
See form: Statement of Organization
Contribution limits
Under South Dakota state law, any person or organization may make unlimited contributions to a ballot question committee; however, a ballot question committee cannot make contributions to political action committees, political parties or candidates.[5]
Out-of-state contributions
South Dakota Initiated Measure 24, approved in November 2018, established a ban on out-of-state contributions to ballot measure committees in South Dakota. Initiated Measure 24 was overturned by a court ruling.
The measure banned individuals, political action committees, and other entities from outside South Dakota from making contributions to ballot question committees. Any entity that had not registered with the South Dakota Secretary of State's office for at least four years is prohibited from making contributions to state ballot measure campaigns.[6]
A ballot question committee found to have accepted an out-of-state contribution would be fined an amount equal to 200 percent of the prohibited contribution by the secretary of state under the bill. Courts were also given authority to fine individuals, committees, and entities up to $5,000 per violation, with fine revenue to be deposited in the general fund.[6]
Reporting requirements
A ballot question committee must file a series of regular campaign finance disclosure reports. These reports detail a committee's financial activities during a given period. For aggregate contributions exceeding $100 in a calendar year, a committee must report the name and address of the donor. A committee must file the following types of reports:
- Pre-election reports "must be received by the secretary of state and filed by 5 p.m. on the second Friday prior to each primary and general election complete through the 15th day prior to that election."[5]
- A year-end statement "must be received by the secretary of state and filed by 5 p.m. each February on the first Monday in February. This must include information from the end of the last filed report through the last day of the preceding calendar year."
- A supplemental statement must be filed if a ballot question committee "receives a contribution of $500 or more within 14 days immediately prior to an election." This statement must be filed within 48 hours of receiving the contribution.
Year-specific reporting dates
2021–2022
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in South Dakota in 2021 and 2022.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in South Dakota, 2021 and 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| 2021 year-end report | Last report - December 31, 2021 | January 28, 2022 |
| Pre-primary report | January 1, 2022 - May 18, 2022 | May 23, 2022 |
| Pre-general report | May 22, 2022 - October 19, 2022 | October 24, 2022 |
| 2022 year-end | Last report - December 31, 2022 | January 27, 2023 |
| Source: South Dakota Secretary of State, "Report Deadlines and Who Files," accessed July 12, 2021 | ||
2016
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in South Dakota in 2016.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in South Dakota, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Pre-primary report | January 1, 2016 - May 23, 2016 | May 27, 2016 |
| Pre-general report | May 27, 2016 - October 24, 2016 | October 28, 2016 |
| Year-end report | Last report - December 31, 2016 | February 6, 2017 |
| Source: South Dakota Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance Reporting Periods," September 30, 2015 | ||
State agencies
In South Dakota, there are two primary agencies involved in campaign finance regulation: the South Dakota Secretary of State and the South Dakota Attorney General. The former processes campaign finance reports, and the attorney general is responsible for enforcement of campaign finance law.[7]
- South Dakota Secretary of State
- Capitol Building
- 500 East Capitol Avenue Ste 204
- Pierre, South Dakota 57501-5070
- Telephone: (605) 773-3537
- Fax: (605) 773-6580
- Email: sdsos@state.sd.us
- South Dakota Attorney General
- 1302 E Hwy 14
- Suite 1
- Pierre South Dakota 57501-8501
- Telephone: (605) 773-3215
- Fax: (605) 773-4106
Campaign finance legislation
The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the South Dakota state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.
Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms South Dakota campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Campaign finance requirements in South Dakota
- Campaign finance agencies in South Dakota
- List of South Dakota ballot measures
External links
Additional reading
Footnotes
- ↑ Institute for Free Speech, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ South Dakota Codified Laws, "Section 12-27-1," accessed December 9, 2015
- ↑ South Dakota Codified Laws, "Section 12-27-23," accessed December 9, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 South Dakota Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance FAQs," accessed December 9, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 South Dakota Attorney General, "Attorney General's Statement," July 31, 2017
- ↑ sos.sd.gov, "Guide to South Dakota Campaign Finance Regulations," accessed July 29, 2015
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