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11 Laws. 6 Years. One Target.
Between 2018 and 2024, South Dakota’s legislature passed 11 laws restricting ballot measures, more than any other state in the country. They moved the petition filing deadline from May to February, cutting months of signature-gathering time. They proposed doubling signature requirements from 5% to 10% for statutory measures and 10% to 15% for constitutional amendments.
The legislature can already repeal any initiated statute with a simple majority vote. Constitutional amendments are the only ballot measures lawmakers cannot easily overturn. Amendment L, on the November 2026 ballot, would require a 60% supermajority to pass any citizen-initiated constitutional amendment, making that last tool nearly impossible to use.
How South Dakota Compares
South Dakota is not alone in restricting ballot power, but it is the most aggressive. Here is how three states stack up:
| Restriction | South Dakota | North Dakota | Missouri |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laws restricting ballot measures (2018-2024) | 11 | 4 | 3 |
| Supermajority proposal on 2026 ballot | 60% for amendments (Amendment L) | 60% for amendments | Majority in all 8 congressional districts |
| Legislature can repeal voter-approved statutes | Yes, simple majority | Yes, simple majority | Yes, simple majority |
| Petition deadline moved earlier | Yes (May to February) | No | No |
| Signature requirements increased | Proposed (5%→10%, 10%→15%) | No | No |
Missouri’s Amendment 4 is structurally different. It would require winning every congressional district, which a Ballotpedia analysis found would have killed every citizen-initiated amendment since 2020. But South Dakota’s approach is cumulative. Each restriction is small enough to defend on its own. Together, they form a wall.
The Medicaid Expansion Test Case
In 2022, South Dakota voters approved Medicaid expansion at the ballot box. The legislature could not repeal a constitutional amendment, so they went around it. In 2024, they referred Amendment F to the ballot, allowing the state to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients. Federal work requirements now add another layer on top of that.
This is the playbook. Voters pass something. The legislature finds a procedural path to gut it. When procedural paths run out, they change the rules so voters cannot pass things in the first place.
The Counter-Proposal
South Dakota citizens have pushed back with their own proposal: a measure that would prevent legislators from amending or repealing any voter-enacted measure for seven years after passage. That would force a cooling-off period and make the legislature live with what voters decided.
Whether that measure reaches the ballot depends on the same signature-gathering process the legislature has been systematically restricting.
What You Can Do
- If you live in South Dakota, vote no on Amendment L in November 2026. A 60% threshold does not protect the constitution. It protects the legislature from voters.
- Check your registration. Verify your status at South Dakota’s Secretary of State website.
- Write your state legislators. Tell them ballot measures exist because the legislature does not always represent the public. Restricting that tool is not reform.
- Share the pattern. South Dakota, Missouri, and North Dakota are all moving to raise thresholds in the same election cycle. That coordination matters.
Read more on the South Dakota state page and the Voting and Elections hub.