South Dakota Constitutional Amendment X, 55% Vote Requirement to Approve Constitutional Amendments Measure (2018)

South Dakota Constitutional Amendment X
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Direct democracy measures and Supermajority requirements
Status Defeated
Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

South Dakota Constitutional Amendment X was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in South Dakota on November 6, 2018. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported requiring a 55% vote, rather than a simple majority vote, to approve a constitutional amendment.

A "no" vote opposed this constitutional amendment, thus continuing to require a simple majority vote to approve a constitutional amendment.

Election results

South Dakota Constitutional Amendment X
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		140,730	45.68%
No		167,362	54.32%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What would this measure have done?

Constitutional Amendment X would have increased the threshold of voter approval required to enact a constitutional amendment to 55 percent of those voting on the amendment. Going into the election, a simple majority of votes cast on amendments—50 percent plus one vote—was required to ratify proposed constitutional amendments.

As of 2018, South Dakota was one of 18 states that had a process for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments, whereby proposed amendments are put on the ballot through an initiative signature petition drive. Amendments could also be put there by the legislature. The 55 percent supermajority requirement would have applied to both initiated constitutional amendments and legislatively referred constitutional amendments.

Why was Constitutional Amendment X on the ballot?

In 2017, the South Dakota State Legislature created an interim task force to study the state's initiative and referendum process and recommend changes. The task force approved and recommended ten proposals to the legislature for consideration during the 2018 session. This amendment was one of the proposals recommended by the task force. Including the task force recommendations, the legislature considered 23 bills and resolutions designed to make substantive changes to the initiative and referendum process in the 2018 session. Of those, 15 were approved, and eight were rejected.

The task force and legislation surrounding the state's direct democracy processes followed a year in 2016 in which there were more citizen-initiated measures on the ballot in South Dakota than since 2006. Nationwide, 2016 featured more citizen-initiated measures than since 2006 as well. South Dakota voters decided three other measures in 2018 with provisions concerning direct democracy.

Supporting and opposing arguments

• Supporters argued that the constitution needs to be protected, especially from out-of-state interests using paid petitioners for initiative petition efforts.

• Opponents argued that the higher voter approval threshold would be more of an impediment to grassroots volunteer-driven initiative efforts than to well-funded initiative campaigns and that it would prevent the approval of some legislatively referred constitutional amendments.

How many other states had this kind of requirement?

Voter approval is required to make changes to the state constitution in every state but Delaware. Eleven states have some requirement for approval beyond a simple majority of those voting, such as a double majority or supermajority requirement. Four of those states have a supermajority requirement: Colorado (55 percent), Florida (60 percent), Illinois (60 percent), and New Hampshire (66.67 percent).

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for this initiative is below:

“

An amendment to the South Dakota Constitution increasing the number of votes needed to approve a constitutional amendment.

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary for this initiative is below:

“

The South Dakota Constitution may only be amended by a vote of the people. Currently, the Constitution provides that a proposed amendment must receive a majority of the votes cast in order to be approved. Constitutional Amendment X changes the Constitution, increasing the number of votes needed to approve an amendment from a majority to 55% of the votes cast on the amendment. Vote "Yes" to adopt the amendment. Vote "No" to leave the Constitution as it is.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article XXIII, South Dakota Constitution

Amendment X was designed to amend section three of Article XXIII of the state constitution. The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted:

Any constitutional amendment or revision must be submitted to the voters and shall become a part of the Constitution only when approved by a majority not less than fifty-five percent of the votes cast thereon on the amendment or revision. The Legislature may provide for the withdrawal by its sponsors of an initiated amendment at any time prior to its submission to the voters.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2018

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The attorney general wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 11.5, and the FRE is 28.5. The word count for the ballot title is 18, and the estimated reading time is 4 seconds. The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 10.3, and the FRE is 48.4. The word count for the ballot summary is 77, and the estimated reading time is 20 seconds. In 2018, for the 167 statewide measures on the ballot, the average ballot title or question was written at a level appropriate for those with between 19 and 20 years of U.S. formal education (graduate school-level of education), according to the FKGL formula. Read Ballotpedia's entire 2018 ballot language readability report here.

Support

Supporters

Senators Ernie Otten (R-6) and James Bolin (R-16) and representatives Kent Peterson (R-19) and Karen Soli (D-15) sponsored the amendment. It was also approved and recommended by the 2017 interim Initiative and Referendum Task Force.

Arguments

Sen. Bolin said, “Our constitution needs protection against a wide range of efforts to change it and to reform it and to alter it in ways that I think the general public is not really appreciative of." Bolin said that the use of paid signature gatherers to put initiated constitutional amendments on the ballot changed the process in a direction that was not the intended purpose of the initiative power.

Opposition

Opponents

In the Senate, six Democratic state senators and three Republican state senators voted against this amendment:

• Jason Frerichs (D-1)
• Reynold Nesiba (D-15)
• Craig Kennedy (D-18)
• Minority Leader Billie H. Sutton (D-21)
• Troy Heinert (D-26)

• Kevin Killer (D-27)
• Majority Leader R. Blake Curd (R-12)
• Alan Solano (R-32)
• Neal Tapio (R-5)

In the House, eight Democrats and one Republican voted against this amendment:

• Dan Ahlers (D-25)
• Steven McCleerey (D-1)
• Kyle Schoenfish (R-19)
• Susan Wismer (D-1)
• Julie Bartling (D-21)

• Oren Lesmeister (D-28A)
• Jamie Smith (D-15)
• Spencer Hawley (D-7)
• Ray Ring (D-17)

Arguments

Sen. Reynold Nesiba (D-15) argued that creating the 55 percent threshold would make the successful initiative campaigns inaccessible to grassroots efforts and would make it so that only efforts with a lot of funding could successfully pass an initiated constitutional amendment. Nesiba said to Bolin, “You’re going to make this problem worse.”

Minority Leader Sutton said, “In fact, I would contend it’s going to give out-of-state money more power.”

Campaign finance

See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2018

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$0.00
Opposition:	$0.00

The South Dakota Republican Ballot Question Committee registered to support Amendment X. It had not reported any campaign finance activity.

Media editorials

See also: 2018 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

Ballotpedia did not identify any media editorials in support of Amendment X. If you are aware of one, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Opposition

• The Argus Leader wrote: "This measure would raise the bar for future constitutional amendments to 55 percent passage before enactment. Paired with the proposed Amendment Z and IM 24, this amendment would erode the potential of direct democracy in the state."

Background

Supermajority requirements in other states

See also: Supermajority requirement

In every state but Delaware, constitutional amendments must be ratified by voters. Eleven states have some requirement for approval beyond a simple majority of those voting, such as a double majority or supermajority requirement. Four of those states have a supermajority requirement. A double majority requires two different criteria to be met, such as a majority of votes cast on a measure and a certain percentage of all ballots cast in the election.

• Colorado requires a 55 percent supermajority vote to approve constitutional amendments.
  • This requirement was enacted through Amendment 71, an initiated constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2016.
• Florida and Illinois require a 60 percent supermajority vote to approve amendments.
  • For Illinois, the requirement is 60 percent of those voting on the amendment or a majority of those who cast a ballot for any office in that election.
• New Hampshire requires a two-thirds (66.67%) vote of those voting on the amendment for ratification.

2017 legislative session and the Initiative and Referendum Task Force

See also: 2017 interim Initiative and Referendum Task Force

Senator Bolin introduced a similar but stronger amendment in 2017 that was designed to require a 60 percent supermajority vote for constitutional amendments and require a two-thirds (66.67%) vote in the state legislature to refer amendments to the ballot. The bill—Senate Joint Resolution 2—passed in the state Senate but did not make it out of the House State Affairs Committee.

The South Dakota State Legislature approved House Bill 1141 during its 2017 legislative session. The bill established a task force to investigate the state's initiative and veto referendum processes and suggest changes to the legislature for consideration in the 2018 legislative session. The task force approved and recommended 10 proposals for consideration by the legislature in 2018. Senate Joint Resolution 1 was one of them.

Approval rates of amendments in South Dakota

See also: South Dakota measures and Constitutional amendments from 2006 through 2018

From 2006 through 2017, voters decided 20 constitutional amendments—including initiated constitutional amendments and legislatively referred constitutional amendments—and approved eight of them, for an approval rate of 40 percent. Of the eight that were approved, three were approved by less than a 55 percent supermajority vote. All three were put on the ballot by the state legislature:

• Amendment C in 2006 was approved by 51.83 percent of voters. The measure was designed to allow the state to recognize marriage only between a man and a woman. The measure was later overturned as unconstitutional.
• Amendment I in 2008 was approved by 52.41 percent of voters. The measure was designed to allow for a maximum of forty legislative session days each year.
• Amendment R in 2016 was approved by 50.61 percent of voters. It allowed the South Dakota Legislature to determine a separate entity, board or procedure to run technical schools and prevented the South Dakota Board of Regents from running such schools.

The last time an initiated constitutional amendment was approved by more than a majority but less than a 55 percent supermajority vote was in 1982, when 52.24 percent of voters approved Amendment A, which concerned the apportioning of state Senate districts.

Other states:

On average from 2006 through 2017, between 11 and 12 amendments were approved by voters per state. Delaware and Massachusetts are the only two states that had zero amendments proposed or approved by voters. Overall, 71.6 percent of proposed amendments were approved; the approval rate was 58.9 percent in the 18 states with a process for citizen-initiated amendments. See Ballotpedia's page on constitutional amendments from 2006 through 2017 for more information.

Referred amendments on the ballot

From 1995 through 2017, there were a total of 70 measures on statewide ballots in South Dakota. Of those, 33 were legislatively referred constitutional amendments. Of the 33 constitutional amendment referred to the ballot by the legislature, voters approved 16 (48.5 percent) and defeated 17 (51.5 percent). The approval rate for all 70 measures—which includes citizen-initiated measures and legislative referrals—was 40 percent. Ballot measures were featured on the ballot in an odd-numbered year only once (2001) in this time period. The average number of legislatively referred constitutional amendments on the ballot during even-numbered years was between two and three. The maximum number of legislatively referred constitutional amendments was six in 1998.

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1995-2017
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Even-year average	Even-year median	Annual minimum	Annual maximum
33	16	48.48%	17	51.52%	2.82	2.00	1	6

Related measures

Direct democracy measures measures on the ballot in 2018
State	Measures
Florida	Florida Amendment 3: Voter Approval of Casino Gambling Initiative a
California	California Proposition 71: Effective Date of Ballot Measures Amendment a
South Dakota	South Dakota Constitutional Amendment Z, Single-Subject Rule for Constitutional Amendments a
South Dakota	South Dakota Initiated Measure 24, Ban Out-of-State Contributions to Ballot Question Committees Initiative a/ot
South Dakota	South Dakota Constitutional Amendment W, State Campaign Finance and Lobbying Laws, Government Accountability Board, and Initiative Process d

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in South Dakota

Poll times

In South Dakota, all polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If the polls close while you are still in line, you will be permitted to vote. South Dakota is divided between Central and Mountain time zones.

Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in South Dakota, an applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of South Dakota, and at least 18 years old by the day of the next election.

The deadline to register to vote is 15 days before the next election. To register, an applicant may submit a voter registration form to the county auditor. Prospective voters can also register in person at the county auditor's office, driver's license stations, certain public assistance agencies, or military recruitment offices.

Automatic registration

South Dakota does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

South Dakota does not permit online voter registration.

Same-day registration

South Dakota does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in South Dakota, you must be a resident of the state.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

South Dakota does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration.

Verifying your registration

The South Dakota Secretary of State’s office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.

Voter ID requirements

South Dakota requires voters to present photo identification while voting.

Voters can present the following forms of identification:

• South Dakota driver's license or nondriver ID card
• U.S. government photo ID
• U.S. passport
• U.S. Armed Forces ID
• Current student photo identification card from a South Dakota high school or South Dakota accredited institution of higher education
• Tribal photo ID

If a voter does not have a photo ID, he or she can sign a personal identification affidavit. The voter will then be given a regular ballot.

Early voting

South Dakota permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.

Absentee voting

All voters are eligible to vote absentee in South Dakota. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.

To vote absentee, an absentee ballot application must be received by county election officials no later than 5 p.m. the day before the election. A completed absentee ballot must then be received by election officials by the close of polls on Election Day.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the South Dakota Constitution

A simple majority vote of all members in each chamber of the South Dakota State Legislature in one legislative session is required to put a constitutional amendment before voters. This proposal was drafted and approved by the interim task force on the state's initiative and referendum process. It was introduced in the Senate as Senate Joint Resolution 1 (SJR 1).

On January 24, 2018, the state Senate voted 26-9 to approve the amendment, which passed it on to the state House. All 26 votes in favor were from Republicans in the Senate; three Republicans and all six Democrats voted against it. If a majority of state representatives approve it, the amendment will go before voters in November 2018.

On February 27, 2018, the state House 55-9 in favor of SJR 1, sending it to the ballot. Six members were excused. The vote was along partisan lines; eight of 10 Democrats voted against the amendment, and the other two were excused. Out of the 60 Republicans, 55 voted in favor of SJR 1, one—Rep. Kyle Schoenfish (R-19)—voted against it, and four were excused.

Vote in the South Dakota State Senate January 24, 2018
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 18  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	26	9	0
Total percent	74.29%	25.71%	0.00%
Democrat	0	6	0
Republican	26	3	0

Vote in the South Dakota House of Representatives February 27, 2018
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 36  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	55	9	6
Total percent	78.57%	12.86%	8.57%
Democrat	0	8	2
Republican	55	1	4

See also

2018 measures

• 2018 ballot measures
• Direct democracy measures on the ballot
• 2018 legislative sessions

South Dakota

• South Dakota ballot measures
• South Dakota ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Senate Joint Resolution 1