Have Recent Legislative Changes in South Dakota Made Using the Initiated Measure Process More Difficult?

The right of the people to initiate and refer laws has been enshrined in South Dakota’s Constitution since 1898. In recent years, citizen advocates have used the initiated measure process to raise the minimum wage (2014), end payday lending (2016), and expand Medicaid (2022). In November 2020, Amendment A passed with 54% of the vote, legalizing recreational marijuana. However, after judicial review, this result was nullified. While these ballot measures were being organized and promoted, South Dakota’s Republican supermajority legislature and two Republican Governors enacted dozens of changes to the initiative and referendum process. Some of these measures, too, have been successfully challenged in court and enjoined. In this article, the authors make five main contributions: 1) they lay out a brief political history of the initiative and referendum process in South Dakota; 2) they discuss a series of the worst bills passed between 2017-2024 that infringe on how citizens initiate and/or refer measures; 3) they summarize twelve measures considered during the recently completed 2025 legislative session; 4) they also analyze three significant judicial opinions related to initiated measures from the South Dakota Supreme Court, U.S. District Court, and Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals; and finally 5) the authors recommend changes to the initiative and referendum process. Their goal is to enhance transparency, better inform citizens, and to make it easier for South Dakota citizens to benefit from this 127-year-old constitutionally granted right.