South Dakota 2020 ballot measures
- Election date: Nov. 3
- Registration deadline(s): Oct. 19
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: No
- Recount laws
- Early voting starts: Sept. 18
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 3 (received)
- Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
- Voter ID: Photo ID
- Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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Three ballot measures were certified to appear on the ballot in South Dakota in 2020. All were approved.
On the ballot
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CISS | Initiated Measure 26 | Marijuana | Provides for a medical marijuana program in South Dakota |  |
| CICA | Constitutional Amendment A | Marijuana | Legalizes recreational use of marijuana; requires the legislature to pass laws providing for the use of medical marijuana and the sale of hemp by April 1, 2022 | / |
| LRCA | Constitutional Amendment B | Gambling | Legalizes sports betting in Deadwood and requires that net local revenue from such activity be dedicated to the Historic Restoration and Preservation of Deadwood | |
Summary of campaign contributions
- See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2020
| Ballot Measure | Support Contributions | Oppose Contributions | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota Constitutional Amendment A, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2020) | $2,353,264.16 | $259,035.00 | |
| South Dakota Constitutional Amendment B, Deadwood Sports Betting Legalization Amendment (2020) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
|
| South Dakota Initiated Measure 26, Medical Marijuana Initiative (2020) | $2,353,264.16 | $0.00 |
|
Getting measures on the ballot
Citizens of South Dakota may initiate legislation as either a state statute or a constitutional amendment. In South Dakota, citizens also have the power to repeal legislation via veto referendum. The South Dakota State Legislature may also place measures on the ballot as legislatively referred constitutional amendments or legislatively referred state statutes with a majority vote of each chamber.
In South Dakota, signature requirements are tied to the number of votes cast for the office of governor in the state's most recent gubernatorial election. For statutes or veto referendums, valid signatures equal to 5 percent of this vote are required. For constitutional amendments, signatures equal to 10 percent are required. For 2020, a total of 33,921 signatures were required for initiated constitutional amendments and 16,961 signatures were required for initiated statutes and veto referendums.
In South Dakota, proponents may circulate petitions for up to one year. Proponents are allowed to begin collecting signatures up to two years prior to the election at which the measure will appear on the ballot. Signatures must be filed at least one year prior to the election. The signature deadline for initiatives targeting the 2020 ballot was November 3, 2019. For referendum petitions, the completed signature petitions must be submitted within 90 days after the legislative session in which the targeted law was approved adjourns.
Referral of 2020 constitutional amendments
The following table illustrates the vote requirements for the constitutional amendments certified for the ballot, the votes the amendment received, and how Democrats and Republicans voted on the amendment in each legislative chamber:
| South Dakota Deadwood Sports Betting Legalization Amendment | Democrats | Republicans | |||
| Senate: | Required: 18 | Yes votes: 24 (68.57%) | No votes: 10 (28.57%) | Yes: 4; No: 1 | Yes: 20; No: 9 |
| House: | Required: 36 | Yes votes: 36 (51.4%) | No votes: 27 (38.6%) | Yes: 7; No: 3 | Yes: 29; No: 24 |
Not on the ballot
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VR | Petition Circulator Requirements Referendum | Direct democracy measures | Referendum on House Bill 1094. HB 1094 would change requirements of ballot measure petition circulators. | 
|
| LRCA | South Dakota Authorize One Gaming License in the City of Yankton Amendment | Gambling | Provides for the issuance of one gaming license to a nonprofit entity for roulette, keno, craps, limited card games, and slot machines in the City of Yankton |
|
| LRCA | Legislative Vacancies Amendment | State legislatures measures | Requires the central committee of the party with which the vacating person was affiliated to appoint another person to fill the vacancy rather than the governor appointing a person to fill the vacancy |
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| LRCA | Wagering on Sporting Events in the City of Deadwood Amendment | Gambling | Allows wagering on sporting events in the City of Deadwood |
|
| LRCA | Trust Fund for Unclaimed Property Amendment | State and local government budgets, spending and finance | Creates the Trust Fund for Unclaimed Property in the state treasury; invests the trust fund in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds; deposits investment income into the general fund to be used for property tax reduction purposes only |
|
| CISS | Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages Initiative | Alcohol | Allows facilities of legal games of chance to serve or allow alcoholic beverages to be consumed at any time, thereby removing the current requirement that alcoholic beverages not be served or consumed on such premises between 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. |
|
| CISS | Changes to Initiative and Referendum Requirements Measure | Direct democracy measures | Repeals single-subject requirement; changes signature deadline; other changes to requirements for initiatives and referendums |
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| CISS | Recreational Marijuana and Paraphernalia Legalization Initiative | Marijuana | Provides for the legalization of marijuana in South Dakota |
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| CICA | Independent Redistricting Commission Initiative | Redistricting | Establishes an independent commission for state legislative redistricting |
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| CICA | Wagering on Sporting Events in the City of Deadwood Initiative | Gambling | Allows wagering on sporting events in the City of Deadwood |
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| CISS | Ability to Buy, Sell, or Rent Any Property or Services Initiative | Property | Allows people over the age of 18 to buy, sell, or rent any property or service |
|
| CICA | Physical Damage Required to Classify Action as Violation of Law Initiative | Law enforcement | Creates new standards for what constitutes a violation of state and local law; changes requirements necessary for charging and prosecuting a defendant |
|
| CISS | Tax Rates Initiative | Taxes | Changes South Dakota tax rates; decreases tax rates from four and a half percent to four percent from 2021 to 2025 |
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| CICA | Remove Age Requirement to Serve as a State Representative Initiative | State legislatures | Removes the age requirement (21 years) to serve as a state representative |
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| CISS | Repeal Initiative Petition Circulator Directory and Badge Requirement Initiative | Direct democracy | Repeals laws requiring initiative and referendum petition circulators to wear a badge and be enrolled in a state directory |
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Historical facts
- See also: History of Initiative & Referendum in South Dakota and List of South Dakota ballot measures
A total of 74 measures appeared on statewide ballots from 1996 through 2018 in South Dakota.
- From 1996 through 2018, an average of six measures have appeared on the ballot during even-numbered election years in South Dakota.
- The number of measures appearing on statewide ballots from 1996 through 2018 ranged from three to 11.
- From 1996 through 2018, about 39 percent (29 of 74) of statewide ballots were approved by voters, and about 61 percent (45 of 74) were defeated. One measure was approved by voters but subsequently overturned by the courts, and one 2016 measure was approved but then repealed by the state legislature.
| South Dakota ballot measures, 1996-2018 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number | Approved | Percent approved | Defeated | Percent defeated | Annual average | Annual median | Annual minimum | Annual maximum | |
| 74 | 29 | 29% | 45 | 61% | 6 | 6 | 3 | 11 | |
State profile
| Demographic data for South Dakota | ||
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 857,919 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 75,811 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 85% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 1.6% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 8.6% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.6% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 3.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 90.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $50,957 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 15.3% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in South Dakota. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
South Dakota voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in South Dakota, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[1]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. South Dakota had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 2.21 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More South Dakota coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in South Dakota
- United States congressional delegations from South Dakota
- Public policy in South Dakota
- Endorsers in South Dakota
- South Dakota fact checks
- More...
Voter guides
2020 State Cannabis Voter Guides
See also
- 2020 ballot measures
- List of South Dakota ballot measures
- Laws governing the initiative process in South Dakota
- South Dakota Legislature
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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