South Dakota Constitutional Amendment L, 60% Vote Requirement for Constitutional Amendments Measure (2026)

South Dakota Constitutional Amendment L
Election date November 3, 2026
Topic Ballot measure process and Ballot measure supermajority requirements
Status On the ballot
Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

South Dakota Constitutional Amendment L, the 60% Vote Requirement for Constitutional Amendments Measure, is on the ballot in South Dakota as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.

A "yes" vote supports requiring a 60% majority by voters to approve constitutional amendments.

A "no" vote opposes raising the vote threshold, maintaining a simple majority vote requirement for approving constitutional amendments.

Overview

What would this amendment change about the ballot measure process in South Dakota?

See also: Text of measure

This amendment would require a 60% supermajority vote to approve a constitutional amendment. This would apply to both initiated and referred constitutional amendments. Currently, constitutional amendments in South Dakota require a simple majority (more than 50%) of votes to be approved.

Do other states have supermajority requirements for constitutional amendments?

See also: Supermajority requirements for constitutional amendments

Currently, 11 states require more than a simple majority to pass constitutional amendments. Three states require a supermajority to pass a constitutional amendment: New Hampshire requires two-thirds (~66.67%), Florida requires 60%, and Colorado requires 55%. In Hawaii, Minnesota, and Wyoming, approval of a constitutional amendment requires a majority of all ballots cast in the election, not just votes on the amendment, so leaving the question blank has the effect of a 'No' vote. Another five states use different requirements, such as combining a simple majority vote on the amendment with a minimum level of voter turnout or the number of ballots cast. 38 states require a simple majority to approve constitutional amendments.

Have South Dakotans voted on supermajority requirements for ballot measures before?

See also: Previous South Dakota amendments related to supermajority requirements

South Dakota voters previously decided on two amendments that would have created supermajority requirements—Amendment C in 2022, and Amendment X in 2018. Both amendments were rejected by voters.

• Amendment C: Rejected in 2022 by 67%-33%, would have required 60% vote to approve ballot measures increasing taxes or fees. It also would have required the state to appropriate $10 million or more in the first five fiscal years.
• Amendment X: Rejected in 2018 by 54%-46%, would have increased the threshold of voter approval required to enact a constitutional amendment to 55% of those voting on the amendment.

Text of measure

Constitutional changes

See also: South Dakota Constitution

The ballot measure would amend Section 3 of Article XXIII of the South Dakota Constitution. The following underlined text would be added and struck-through text would be deleted:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

AnyA constitutional amendment or revision must be submitted to the voters and shall become becomes a part of the Constitution only when if approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon an affirmative vote of sixty percent of the votes cast on the question. The Legislature may provide for the withdrawal by its sponsors of an initiated amendment, by its sponsors, at any time prior to its submission to the voters.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Sen. John Carley (R)
• State Sen. Tamara Grove (R)
• State Sen. Kevin Jensen (R)
• State Sen. Jim Mehlhaff (R)
• State Sen. Ernie Otten Jr. (R)
• State Sen. Carl Perry (R)
• State Sen. Sue Peterson (R)
• State Sen. Tom Pischke (R)
• State Rep. Aaron Aylward (R)
• State Rep. Spencer Gosch (R)
• State Rep. Leslie J. Heinemann (R)
• State Rep. John Hughes (R)
• State Rep. Travis Ismay (R)
• State Rep. Dylan Jordan (R)
• State Rep. Terri Jorgenson (R)
• State Rep. Tina Mulally (R)
• State Rep. Brian Mulder (R)
• State Rep. Kathy Rice (R)
• State Rep. Brandei Schaefbauer (R)
• State Rep. John Sjaarda (R)

Arguments

• State Rep. John Hughes (R): "When we put new rights in our Constitution, we have to be really careful what we’re doing. That’s why things like an unrestricted right to an abortion, the end of political parties in South Dakota, marijuana whether recreational or medical, those are policy decisions."

Opposition

Opponents

Organizations

• Dakota Rural Action
• Voter Defense Association of South Dakota

Arguments

• Chase Jensen, lobbyist for Dakota Rural Action Dakota Rural Action: "With the unprecedented concentration of wealth in our society, in our politics today, we believe raising the threshold of votes wouldn't deter out of state money. It would only open the tap even further."
• Zebediah Johnson, lobbyist for the Voter Defense Association of South Dakota: "There is no need for South Dakota, which created the American ballot initiative, to deviate from the norm in such an extreme manner."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for South Dakota ballot measures

Ballotpedia did not identify ballot measure committees registered to support or oppose the ballot measure.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Background

Previous South Dakota amendments related to supermajority requirements

Amendment C (June 2022)

See also: South Dakota Constitutional Amendment C, 60% Vote Requirement for Ballot Measures Increasing Taxes or Appropriating $10 Million Measure (June 2022)

In June 2022, South Dakota voters rejected Constitutional Amendment C, which would have required a three-fifths (60%) supermajority vote for the approval of ballot measures that would increase taxes or fees or that would require the state to appropriate $10 million or more in the first five fiscal years. The requirement would have applied to constitutional amendments and state statutes that are placed on the ballot through citizen initiative or that are referred to the ballot by the state legislature. As of 2021, ballot measures in South Dakota required a simple majority vote (50%+1) to be adopted. Amendment C was placed on the ballot by the South Dakota State Legislature.

The amendment was rejected by 67.43%-32.57%.

Amendment X (2018)

See also: South Dakota Constitutional Amendment X, 55% Vote Requirement to Approve Constitutional Amendments Measure (2018)

In November 2018, South Dakota voters rejected Constitutional Amendment X, which would have increased the threshold of voter approval required to enact a constitutional amendment to 55% of those voting on the amendment. Amendment X was placed on the ballot by the South Dakota State Legislature.

The amendment was rejected by 54.32%-45.68%.

Supermajority requirements for constitutional amendments

See also: Supermajority requirement

Voters decide on constitutional amendments in 49 of 50 states. Legislatures are required to seek voter approval to amend their state constitutions. Delaware is the one state where voter approval is not required for state constitutional amendments.

As of 2025, 11 states required a supermajority vote or other election vote threshold for constitutional amendments:

• New Hampshire had the highest vote requirement at two-thirds (66.67%).
• Florida had the second-highest vote requirement at 60%.
• In Colorado, a 55% vote of voters was required to amend the state constitution.
• In Hawaii, Minnesota, and Wyoming, a majority of the total ballots cast in an election was required, meaning a blank vote has the same effect as a 'no' vote in these three states.
• The other five states—Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Tennessee—had other requirements, such as requiring a simple majority vote on the ballot measure itself and a certain percentage of voter turnout or ballots cast.

The following map shows the election vote threshold requirements for state constitutional amendments:

Ballot measures related to supermajority requirements

Ballotpedia tracked 26 ballot measures related to supermajority requirements between 1912 and 2024. Twelve measures were approved, and 14 measures were defeated.

State	Year	Measure	Type	Description	Outcome
California	2024	Proposition 5	LRCA	Decrease the vote threshold from two-thirds to 55% for local bond measures to fund housing projects and public infrastructure	d
Ohio	2023	Issue 1	LRCA	Increase to 60% for constitutional amendments	d
Arizona	2022	Proposition 132	LRCA	Increase to 60% for tax increase-related measures	a
Arkansas	2022	Issue 2	LRCA	Increase to 60% for constitutional amendments and citizen-initiated measures	d
South Dakota	2022	Amendment C	LRCA	Increase to 60% for constitutional amendments and citizen-initiated measures	d
South Dakota	2018	Amendment X	LRCA	Increase to 60% for tax increase-related and certain appropriations-related measures	d
Colorado	2016	Amendment 71	CICA	Increase to 55% for constitutional amendments	a
Arizona	2008	Proposition 105	CICA	Change from a simple majority vote to a majority of registered voters for a tax-related initiative	d
Washington	2007	HJR 4204	LRCA	Decrease from 60% to a simple majority for voters to approve school district property tax measures	a
Florida	2006	Amendment 3	LRCA	Increase to 60% for constitutional amendments	a
Arizona	2000	Proposition 102	LRCA	Increase to 66.67% for hunting-related measures	d
Oregon	1998	Measure 63	CICA	Require that a measure proposing a supermajority vote be passed by the same vote threshold	a
Oregon	1996	Measure 46	CICA	Change from a simple majority vote to a majority of registered voters for a tax-related measure	d
Utah	1998	Proposition 5	LRCA	Increase to 66.67% for hunting-related measures	a
Idaho	1980	SJR 112	LRCA	Change from majority of total votes cast for governor to a simple majority vote on an initiative	a
Oklahoma	1974	State Question 495	LRCA	Change from majority of total ballots cast to a simple majority vote on an initiative	a
Oklahoma	1974	State Question 496	LRCA	Change from majority of total ballots cast to a simple majority vote on a constitutional amendment	a
Washington	1972	SJR 5	LRCA	Require 60% for ballot measures to establish lotteries	a
Idaho	1934	HJR 7	LRCA	Change from majority of total votes cast for governor to a simple majority vote on an initiative	d
Oregon	1933	Measure Nos. 308-309	LRCA	Require a two-thirds vote of electors for municipal corporations to issue bonds	d
Nebraska	1920	Amendment 39	CCR	Change from a majority of total ballots cast to a simple majority vote on a constitutional amendment, provided that 35% of those who vote in the election vote on the amendment	a
Arizona	1916	Measure Nos. 100-101	LRCA	Change from a simple majority vote on an initiative to a majority of total ballots cast	d
California	1915	Proposition 7	LRCA	Increase to 66.67% for citizen-initiated bond measures	d
Ohio	1912	Amendment	CRCA	Change from majority of total ballots cast to a simple majority vote on a constitutional amendment	a
Oregon	1912	Measure Nos. 310-311	LRCA	Change from a simple majority vote on a constitutional amendment to a majority of total ballots cast	d
Oregon	1912	Measure Nos. 322-323	CICA	Change from a simple majority vote on an initiative to a majority of total ballots cast	d

Path to the ballot

Amending the South Dakota Constitution

See also: Amending the South Dakota Constitution

A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the South Dakota State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 36 votes in the South Dakota House of Representatives and 18 votes in the South Dakota State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

House Joint Resolution 5003 (HJR 5003)

The following is the timeline of the constitutional amendment in the state legislature:

• January 14, 2025: South Dakota House State Affairs Committee introduced the constitutional amendment as House Joint Resolution 5003 (HJR 5003).
• January 17, 2025: The House State Affairs Committee passed HJR 5003 by 11-2, advancing the amendment to the full House of Representatives.
• January 22, 2025: The House of Representatives voted 61-5, with three members absent, to approve HJR 5003. To pass the amendment, 36 votes were required. HJR 5003 had the support of 60 Republicans and one Democrat, while five Democrats voted against the amendment. The amendment then advanced to the South Dakota State Senate.
• January 29, 2025: The amendment was referred to the South Dakota Senate State Affairs Committee.
• March 6, 2025: The Senate State Affairs Committee voted 6-1 to pass the amendment, advancing the amendment to the full Senate.
• March 10, 2025. The State Senate voted 29-4, with two members absent, to pass the amendment, to approve HJR 5003. For the Senate to pass the amendment, 18 votes were needed. The amendment had the support of 29 Republicans, while two Democrats and two Republicans voted against the amendment.

Partisan Direction Index = +85.3% (Republican)

Democratic Support

12.5%

Republican Support

97.8%

South Dakota House of Representatives

Voted on January 22, 2025

Votes Required to Pass: 36
	Yes	No	NV
Total	61	5	3
Total %	88.4%	7.2%	4.3%
Democratic (D)	1	5	0
Republican (R)	60	0	3

South Dakota State Senate

Voted on March 10, 2025

Votes Required to Pass: 18
	Yes	No	NV
Total	29	4	2
Total %	82.8%	11.4%	5.7%
Democratic (D)	0	2	1
Republican (R)	29	2	1

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in South Dakota

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in South Dakota.

How to vote 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.

Registration

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.

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.

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 for at least thirty consecutive days.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

South Dakota does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

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.

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.

See also

2026 ballot measures

View other measures certified for the 2026 ballot across the U.S. and in South Dakota.

• 2026 ballot measures
• South Dakota 2026 ballot measures
• South Dakota elections, 2026

South Dakota ballot measures

Explore South Dakota's ballot measure history, including constitutional amendments.

• List of South Dakota ballot measures
• South Dakota Historical Ballot Measures Factbook
• Ballot measure supermajority requirements ballot measures
• South Dakota State Legislature

Legislative process

Understand how measures are placed on the ballot and the rules that apply.

• Legislatively referred constitutional amendment
• South Dakota Constitution
• Amending state constitutions

External links

• South Dakota House Joint Resolution 5003 (2026)

Footnotes

2026 ballot measures

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