South Dakota Constitutional Amendment Z, Single-Subject Rule for Constitutional Amendments (2018)
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 22
- Early voting: Sept. 21 - Nov. 5
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 5
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: No
- Voter ID: Photo ID required
- Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
| South Dakota Constitutional Amendment Z | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Direct democracy measures | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The South Dakota Single-Subject Rule for Constitutional Amendments, Constitutional Amendment Z, was on the ballot in South Dakota as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.[1] It was approved.
| A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to require that all constitutional amendments—whether initiated constitutional amendments or legislatively referred constitutional amendments—concern only one subject and that multiple proposed amendments to the constitution be voted on separately. |
| A "no" vote opposed amending the state constitution to require that all constitutional amendments—whether initiated constitutional amendments or legislatively referred constitutional amendments—concern only one subject and that multiple proposed amendments to the constitution be voted on separately. |
Election results
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South Dakota Amendment Z |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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195,790 | 62.41% | ||
| No | 117,947 | 37.59% | ||
Overview
What was Amendment Z designed to do?
Amendment Z established a requirement that constitutional amendments need to concern only one single subject. The requirement was designed to apply to both initiated constitutional amendments and legislatively referred constitutional amendments. This type of requirement is called a single-subject rule. During the 2018 legislative session, the state legislature passed a single-subject rule for initiated state statutes as well. Going into 2018, the state did not have a single-subject rule for constitutional amendments or initiated state statutes, which meant that multiple topics could be addressed in one ballot measure. Amendment Z affected constitutional amendments but not measures proposing changes to state statute.[2]
Other states with single-subject rules
There are 26 states with a process for initiatives, referendums, or both. Of those, 15 other states have single-subject rules or separate-vote requirement provisions. South Dakota's approval of Amendment Z means that there are now a total of 16 states with a single-subject rule.
Where did Amendment Z come from?
Amendment Z was one of many proposals in 2018 to change the initiative process in South Dakota. In 2016, there were more citizen initiatives on the ballot in South Dakota than in any year since 2006. In 2017, an interim committee to investigate the state's initiative and referendum process and recommend changes for consideration during the 2018 session was authorized. Overall in 2018, the legislature considered 24 bills—including 10 proposed by the interim task force—designed to make substantive changes to the initiative and referendum process. Of those, 15 were approved, and eight were rejected. Click here to see a full list of these bills. Two citizen initiatives designed to make changes to the state's initiative process were also certified for the 2018 ballot.
Speaker of the House Mark Mickelson (R-13), who sponsored several of the proposed changes and supported others, said that the state initiative process was “being cluttered and crowded out by folks that don’t live here. [...] So now, we get used as a testing ground because we’ve got cheap media markets and low ballot signature requirements to get on.”[3]
Rebecca Terk, a lobbyist for Dakota Rural Action—a group that opposed the changes being made to the state's initiative and referendum laws—said, “We did not ask for the plethora of bills coming out of that task force, many of which, in our opinion, undermine the [initiative] process."[3]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[4]
| “ | An amendment to the South Dakota Constitution establishing that a proposed constitutional amendment may embrace only one subject, and requiring proposed amendments to be presented and voted on separately.[5] | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary was as follows:[4]
| “ | By law, any proposed amendment to the South Dakota Constitution must first be submitted to and approved by a vote of the people.
Constitutional Amendment Z changes the Constitution to add the requirement that a proposed amendment may not embrace more than one subject. In addition, multiple amendments proposed at the same election must be individually presented and voted on separately. Vote "Yes" to adopt the amendment. Vote "No" to leave the Constitution as it is.[5] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article XXIII, South Dakota Constitution
Amendment Z amended section 1 of Article XXIII of the state constitution. The following underlined text was added, and struck-through text was deleted:[6]
|
§ 1. Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by initiative or by a majority vote of all members of each house of the Legislature. An amendment proposed by initiative shall require a petition signed by qualified voters equal in number to at least ten percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the last gubernatorial election. The petition containing the text of the proposed amendment and the names and addresses of its sponsors shall be filed at least one year before the next general election at which the proposed amendment is submitted to the voters. A proposed amendment may amend one or more articles and related subject matter in other articles as necessary to accomplish the objectives of the amendment, however no proposed amendment may embrace more than one subject. If more than one amendment is submitted at the same election, each amendment shall be so prepared and distinguished that it can be voted upon separately.[5] |
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.
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
The following state representatives sponsored Amendment Z in the legislature:[1]
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The following state senators sponsored Amendment Z in the legislature:[1]
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Arguments
- Sponsor Rep. Mark Mickelson (R-13) said, "Sometimes people will bring a complicated amendment to the Constitution that may have eight or nine different ideas and one or two good ones, and so people are left with the choice of voting for a package of amendments, one or two of which they like and others in which they don't like. It's just intended to really clarify what's in front of people when they're deciding on the issue."[7]
Opposition
Arguments
- Rebecca Terk with Dakota Rural Action said, "[Putting an amendment on the ballot] involves setting up a ballot question committee and involved raising hundreds of thousands of dollars and involves gathering tens of thousands of petition signatures. Split it up and run a separate campaign and a separate process and gather tens of thousands of signatures for every little piece of what is clearly I think to most people, a single issue."[7]
Campaign finance
- See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2018
| Total campaign contributions: | |
| Support: | $0.00 |
| Opposition: | $0.00 |
Ballotpedia did not identify any committees registered in support of or opposition to Constitutional Amendment Z.[8]
Media editorials
- See also: 2018 ballot measure media endorsements
Support
Ballotpedia did not identify any media editorials in support of Amendment Z. If you are aware of one, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Opposition
- The Rapid City Journal wrote: "Vote no on Amendment Z. It would place an undue burden on citizens when petitioning the government for a redress of grievances."[9]
- The Argus Leader wrote: "While we advocate for streamlined, well-thought-out language in state law, this measure meant to constrain proposed amendments to a single subject also unnecessarily hamstrings voters’ ability to effect change."[10]
Background
Tension surrounding direct democracy and the state's policies and process for it has been building in South Dakota since at least 2016. In 2016, there were more citizen-initiated measures than since 2006. Following this increase in the number of citizen initiatives, the legislature authorized an interim task force in 2017 to consider and recommend changes to the state's initiative and referendum process. Ultimately, changing the state's initiative process was the topic of two-dozen bills in the 2018 legislative session. Amendment Z was one of these proposed changes. Ultimately, voters will decide four ballot measures, including Amendment Z, related to direct democracy in November 2018, and the legislature approved more than a dozen other changes to the state's statutes governing initiatives and referendums.
Higher than usual number of initiatives on the ballot in 2016
In 2016, there were nine citizen-initiated measures on the ballot in South Dakota. This was more than in any year since 2006. There was one legislatively referred constitutional amendment on the ballot. Topics included banking and payday loans, elections laws, campaign finance restrictions, minimum wage, and crime victim rights (a Marsy's Law). About $12.5 million was contributed to the campaigns in support of or opposition to measures in South Dakota in 2016. Out-of-state donors accounted for 75 percent ($9.4 million) of contributions.
One of the 2016 initiatives, Initiated Measure 22, was approved by voters in November 2016 and then repealed by the legislature in the 2017 legislative session.
Changes to the South Dakota initiative process
The type of requirement proposed by Amendment Z is called a single-subject rule. During the 2018 legislative session, the state legislature passed a single-subject rule for initiated state statutes as well. The bill—House Bill 1007—passed largely along partisan lines in the House, with one Republican joining Democrats in opposition and the rest of the Republicans approving it. In the Senate, all of the 21 votes in favor of the bill were from Republicans; eight Republicans and all six Democrats voted against it. This was one of many proposed changes—including proposals from the legislature and through citizen initiatives—to the citizen initiative process in South Dakota in 2017 and 2018 following 2016's uptick in citizen-initiated measures on the state's ballot. This corresponded to a surge in the number of citizen initiatives nation-wide as well.[2]
Initiative process changes proposed through citizen initiatives
- See also: Initiated Measure 24 and Constitutional Amendment W
Two citizen initiatives were certified for the 2018 ballot that were designed to make changes to the state's initiative and referendum process:
- Initiated Measure 24 - an initiated state statute to ban out-of-state contributions to ballot question committees
- Constitutional Amendment W - an initiated constitutional amendment sponsored by proponents of the 2016 Initiated Measure 22 that was repealed by the legislature. Amendment W was designed to require voter approval for any future substantive changes to the state's initiative and referendum process, constitutionalize the state's simple majority voter approval requirement for initiated state statutes and veto referendums, and prohibit the legislature from amending or repealing citizen initiatives without voter approval. The initiative was also designed to also establish an ethics board and enact restrictions and regulations on campaign finance and lobbying. (Amendment W is a good example of an initiative that would not be allowed if Amendment Z is approved because it concerns multiple subjects.)
Initiative process changes proposed through the legislature
In 2017, an interim committee to investigate the state's initiative and referendum process and recommend changes for consideration during the 2018 session was authorized. Overall in 2018, the legislature considered 24 bills—including 10 proposed by the interim task force—designed to make substantive changes to the initiative and referendum process. Of those, 15 were approved, and eight were rejected. Click here to see a full list of these bills. The approved bills included the following:
- laws requiring petition circulators to disclose additional information—such as current residential information and residential history, their paid or volunteer status, and the amount of their compensation;
- a proposed constitutional amendment (requiring voter approval) to establish a 55 percent supermajority vote requirement to approve future constitutional amendments at the ballot;
- a law requiring initiative proponents to defend against certain legal challenges to initiative signature petitions rather than the attorney general; and
- a law establishing that, if two directly conflicting measures are both approved, the one with the most "yes" votes supersedes the other.
Speaker of the House Mark Mickelson (R-13), who sponsored several of the proposed changes and supported others, said that the state initiative process was “being cluttered and crowded out by folks that don’t live here. [...] So now, we get used as a testing ground because we’ve got cheap media markets and low ballot signature requirements to get on.”[3]
Rebecca Terk, a lobbyist for Dakota Rural Action—a group that opposed the changes being made to the state's initiative and referendum laws—said, “We did not ask for the plethora of bills coming out of that task force, many of which, in our opinion, undermine the [initiative] process."[3]
Single-subject rules in the United States
- See also: Single-subject rule
There are 26 states with a process for initiatives, referendums, or both. Of those, 16 (including South Dakota) have a single-subject rule or separate-vote requirement provisions.
Read more about what states have single-subject rules, arguments for and against single-subject rules, and lawsuits based on single-subject rules here.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the South Dakota Constitution
To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a simple majority vote is required in both the South Dakota State Senate and the South Dakota House of Representatives.
This amendment was introduced in the state House with 47 sponsors as House Joint Resolution 1006 (HJR 1006); the primary sponsor was Speaker of the House Mark Mickelson (R-13). On February 22, 2018, the state House voted 56-11 in favor of HJR 1006, with three members excused. The vote was along partisan lines, with 56 of 60 Republicans voting in favor of it, and 9 of 10 Democrats and two Republicans voting against it. On March 6, 2018, the state Senate passed an amended version in a vote of 28-6, also along partisan lines. The amendment was not substantive. The House concurred with the amendment on March 7, 2018, with the same vote of 56-11 and the same partisan breakdown (although several Republicans members switched their votes around). This certified the amendment for the ballot.[1]
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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.[11]
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.[12]
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.[12]
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
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.[13]
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.[13]
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.[14][15]
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.[16]
Related measures
| Direct democracy measures measures on the ballot in 2018 | |
|---|---|
| State | Measures |
| Florida | Florida Amendment 3: Voter Approval of Casino Gambling Initiative
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| California | California Proposition 71: Effective Date of Ballot Measures Amendment
|
| [[2018 ballot measures|]] | [[South Dakota Constitutional Amendment X, 55% Vote Requirement to Approve Constitutional Amendments Measure (2018)|]] |
| South Dakota | South Dakota Initiated Measure 24, Ban Out-of-State Contributions to Ballot Question Committees Initiative /
|
| South Dakota | South Dakota Constitutional Amendment W, State Campaign Finance and Lobbying Laws, Government Accountability Board, and Initiative Process  |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 South Dakota State Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 1006," accessed February 26, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 South Dakota Legislature, "House Bill 1007," accessed April 18, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Capital Journal, "2018 legislators chip away at initiated measure process," March 28, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 South Dakota Secretary of State, "Constitutional Amendment Z Ballot Explanation," accessed May 9, 2018
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ South Dakota Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 1006 - Text," accessed February 26, 2018
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kelo Land, "What You Need To Know About Amendment Z," accessed October 15, 2018
- ↑ South Dakota Campaign Finance Reporting System, "Committee Search," accessed April 25, 2018
- ↑ The Rapid City Journal, "Journal's stand on ballot issues," accessed November 4, 2018
- ↑ The Argus Leader, "Vote yes for Randy Seiler, no on Amendment W," accessed November 4, 2018
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, “General Voting Information,” accessed October 17, 2019
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 South Dakota Secretary of State, “Register to Vote, Update Voter Registration or Cancel Voter Registration,” accessed October 5, 2019
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 South Dakota Secretary of State, "General Voting Information," accessed October 7, 2019
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Voting by Absentee Ballot," accessed December 16, 2013
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Absentee and Early Voting," accessed December 16, 2013
- ↑ Long Distance Voter, "South Dakota Absentee Ballot Guide," accessed December 16, 2013
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