2018 Statewide Ballot Questions

Click here to view the handout on how to Submit and Circulate a 2018 Statewide Ballot Question Petition

Click here to find information on Challenging a Statewide Ballot Question

To file a Statement of Organization for a Ballot Question Committee, via our online system, click here. You may also download a paper form from that same link.

Contact Information:
SD Legislative Research Council, 605-773-3251
Office of the SD Attorney General, 605-773-3215

PETITION FORMS:

WARNING: State law requires that each petition sheet be self-contained. This means that the petition heading, instructions to signers, signature lines and circulator's verification must all be printed on each sheet prior to circulation. The sheet must be printed on front and back. You CANNOT tape, staple or glue the front and back sides together. You CANNOT include sheets with signature lines only. If you have any questions about how to correctly prepare a petition sheet, please call the elections department at 773-3537.

Updates to ballot question petitions went into effect on July 29, 2018. Below are the versions that were used for the 2018 ballot measures. The new versions may be found here.
5:02:08:07. Form of Statewide initiative petition.
5:02:08:08. Form of Statewide referendum petition.
5:02:08:09. Form of Statewide initiated constitutional amendment petition or initiated petition for repeal of constitutional provision.

NOTE: A separate affidavit will have to be submitted for each sponsor.
5:02:08:07.02 Affidavit to be submitted with initiative, referendum, or initiated constitutional amendment petition to be circulated.
5:02:08:07.01. Affidavit to be filed with completed Statewide initiative, referendum, or initiated constitutional amendment petition.

2018 Primary Election Ballot Measures

Title & Official Petition	Official Ballot Number/ Letter	Validation Date	Challenge Deadline	Circulator Handout/ Sponsor Info	Attorney General's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
HJR 1004 - An amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, to revise certain provisions relating to the rights of crime victims.	Constitutional Amendment Y	March 9, 2018	N/A	N/A	AG's Statement	N/A	N/A

2018 General Election Ballot Measures

Title & Official Petition	Official Ballot Number/ Letter	Validation Date	Challenge Deadline	Circulator Handout/ Sponsor Info	Attorney General's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An initiated amendment to the South Dakota Constitution changing campaign finance and lobbying laws, creating a government accountability board, and changing certain initiative and referendum provisions (VERSION #1)	Constitutional Amendment W	Dec. 28, 2017	Jan. 29, 2018	Circulator Handouts	AG's Statement Recitation	LRC Comments	Prison/Jail Population Cost Estimate Statement Fiscal Note
An initiated measure prohibiting contributions to ballot question committees by non-residents, out-of-state political committees, and entities that are not filed with the Secretary of State.	Initiated Measure 24	Jan. 4, 2018	Feb. 5, 2018	Circulator Handouts	AG's Statement Recitation	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An initiated measure increasing the State tobacco tax and creating a postsecondary technical institute fund for the purposes of lowering student tuition and providing financial support to the State postsecondary technical institutes.	Initiated Measure 25	February 16, 2018	March 19, 2018	Circulator Handouts	AG's Statement Recitation	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
SJR 1 - An amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, relating to amendments to the Constitution.	Constitutional Amendment X	March 6, 2018	N/A	N/A	AG's Statement	N/A	N/A
HJR 1006 - An amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, relating to amendments to the Constitution.	Constitutional Amendment Z	March 9, 2018	N/A	N/A	AG's Statement	N/A	N/A

2018 Ballot Measures Removed By Court Order (July 16, 2018)

Title & Official Petition	Rejection Date	Official Ballot Number/ Letter	Validation Date	Challenge Deadline	Circulator Handout/ Sponsor Info	Attorney General's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An initiated measure establishing a cap on the price a State Agency may pay for a prescription drug.	Removal Issued by Court Order July 16, 2018	Initiated Measure 26	April 11, 2018	May 11, 2018	Circulator Handout	AG's Statement Recitation	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note

Title & Official Petition

Rejection Date

Official Ballot Number/ Letter

Validation Date

Challenge Deadline

Circulator Handout/
Sponsor
Info

Attorney General's Statement

LRC Comments

Fiscal Note

An initiated measure establishing a cap on the price a State Agency may pay for a prescription drug.

Removal Issued by Court Order July 16, 2018

Initiated Measure 26

April 11, 2018

May 11, 2018

Fiscal Note

2018 Ballot Measures That Did Not Meet Signature Requirement

Title & Official Petition	Rejection Date	Signatures Short	Circulator Handout/ Sponsor Info	Attorney General's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An initiated amendment to the South Dakota Constitution establishing open primary elections.	March 2, 2018	2,236	Circulator Handouts	AG's Statement	LRC Comments LRC Comments #2 (This version was withdrawn by the sponsor)	N/A
An initiated amendment to the South Dakota Constitution providing for state legislative redistricting by a commission	March 12, 2018	2,469	Circulator Handouts	AG's Statement	LRC Comments	N/A
An initiated measure allowing certain elections to be conducted through a voting-by-mail process.	March 16, 2018	2,916	Circulator Handout	AG's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An Initiated Measure to legalize marijuana for medical use.	April 16, 2018	4,401	Circulator Handout	Attorney General's Statement	LRC Comments Sponsor Draft #2	Fiscal Note

2018 Potential Ballot Measures - Petitions Not Submitted by Deadline

Title & Official Petition	Circulator Handout/ Sponsor Info	Attorney General's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An Initiated Measure authorizing a South Dakota-Licensed Physician to prescribe drugs that a terminally ill patient may take for the purpose of ending life.	Circulator Handout	Attorney General's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An Initiated Measure to legalize certain amounts of marijuana, drugs made from marijuana, and drug paraphernalia, and to regulate and tax marijuana establishments	Circulator Handout	Atorney General's Statement	LRC Comments Sponsor Draft #2	Fiscal Note
An Initiated Measure to legalize all quantities of marijuana and to make other changes to State law involving marijuana	Circulator Handout	Attorney General's Statement	LRC Comments LRC Comments #2	Fiscal Note
An Initiated Amendment to the South Dakota Constitution regarding initiated and referred measures	Circulator Handout	Attorney General's Statement Attorney General's Statement #2(This version [#2] not yet approved for circulation)	Draft A Draft B Draft C	Fiscal Note

2018 Potential Ballot Measures - No petition submitted for circulation

NOTE: The version of the measures posted along with LRC comments are not necessarily the final versions and could be subject to change by the sponsor. By law, the sponsor must present the final version of the measure to the Attorney General.

Title	AG's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An Initiated Measure requiring students to use rooms designated for the same biological sex, and requiring public schools to provide a reasonable accommodation for students whose gender identity is not the same as their biological sex	AG's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An initiated amendment to the South Dakota Constitution changing campaign finance and lobbying laws, creating a government accountability board, and changing certain initiative and referendum provisions. (VERSION #2)	AG's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An initiated amendment to the South Dakota Constitution changing campaign finance and lobbying laws, and creating a government accountability board. (VERSION #3)	AG's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An initiated amendment to the South Dakota Constitution changing campaign finance and lobbying laws, and creating a government accountability board. (VERSION #4)	AG's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An Initiated Measure requiring people to use certain rooms designated for the same biological sex	AG's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
South Dakota Voter Accessibility, Integrity, and Efficiency, and Automatic Voter Registration Act	AG's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An initiated measure increasing the State tobacco tax and creating a postsecondary technical institute fund for the purposes of lowering student tuition and providing financial support to the State postsecondary technical institutes.	AG's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note
An Act to revise certain provisions regarding contributions to ballot question committees	AG's Statement	LRC Comments	Fiscal Note

2018 Ballot Question Committees

To search the campaign finance forms for the ballot question committees and other committees please click here.