South Dakota Initiated Measure 28, Prohibit Food and Grocery Taxes Initiative (2024)

South Dakota Initiated Measure 28
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic Taxes
Status d Defeated
Type State statute	Origin Citizens

South Dakota Initiated Measure 28, the Prohibit Food and Grocery Taxes Initiative, was on the ballot in South Dakota as an initiated state statute on November 5, 2024. The ballot measure was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported prohibiting state sales taxes on anything sold for human consumption, not including alcoholic beverages or prepared food.

A "no" vote opposed prohibiting state sales taxes on anything sold for human consumption, not including alcoholic beverages or prepared food.

Election results

South Dakota Initiated Measure 28
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		129,261	30.76%
No		290,969	69.24%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What would Initiated Measure 28 have changed about taxes in South Dakota?

See also: Text of measure

Initiated Measure 28 would have prohibited the state from imposing a sales tax on items sold for human consumption, except for alcoholic beverages and prepared foods. The measure defined prepared food as food sold heated or with utensils. Local governments would have retained the authority to levy their own sales taxes.

As of 2024, South Dakota had a 4.2% sales and use tax that applied to groceries, and cities could establish an additional 2% sales tax. In 2023, the South Dakota State Legislature temporarily reduced the statewide sales tax from 4.5% to 4.2% for four years.

Did other states exempt groceries from statewide sales taxes?

See also: Statewide sales tax exemptions on groceries in other states

As of 2024, out of the 45 states that collected a statewide sales tax, 13 states applied at least part of that tax to groceries. South Dakota and Mississippi were the only two states that applied the full state sales tax rate to groceries, while eleven other states—Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia—paid a lower statewide sales tax for groceries. Thirty-two of the 45 states with a statewide sales tax exempted groceries from the statewide sales tax.

Who was behind the campaign surrounding the initiative?

See also: Path to the ballot

TakeItBack was leading the campaign in support of the initiative. Rick Weiland, the co-founder of TakeItBack, said, "Removing the state’s sales tax on groceries is a crucial step towards addressing food insecurity and promoting economic fairness in our state."

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

“

Title: An Initiated Measure Prohibiting Taxes on Anything Sold for Human Consumption Attorney General Explanation: Currently, the State collects tax on the sale or use of certain goods, including foods and drinks. Many municipalities also collect these taxes. This initiated measure prohibits the State from collecting sales or use tax on anything sold for human consumption. The measure eliminates these sources of revenue for the State. Human consumption is not defined by state law. However, its common definition includes more than foods and drinks. The measure does not prohibit the collection of sales or use tax on alcoholic beverages or prepared food. Prepared food is defined by law to include food that is sold heated or with utensils. The measure may affect the State’s obligations under the tobacco master settlement agreement and the streamlined sales tax agreement. The master settlement agreement resulted from multi-state lawsuits against cigarette manufacturers for the public health effects of smoking. South Dakota’s annual share of the master settlement agreement is approximately $20 million. The streamlined sales tax agreement is a multistate program designed to simplify the collection of sales and use tax for companies selling in multiple jurisdictions. Judicial or legislative clarification of the measure will be necessary. Vote "Yes" to adopt the initiated measure. Vote "No" to leave South Dakota law as it is.

”

Full text

The full text of the ballot initiative is below:

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The attorney general wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 14, and the FRE is 11. The word count for the ballot title is 11.

The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 14, and the FRE is 42. The word count for the ballot summary is 188.

Support

TakeItBack led the campaign in support of the initiative.

Supporters

Political Parties

• Democratic Party of South Dakota

Unions

• South Dakota State Federation of Labor AFL-CIO

Arguments

• Rick Weiland, co-founder of TakeItBack: "Removing the state’s sales tax on groceries is a crucial step towards addressing food insecurity and promoting economic fairness in our state."
• B.J. Motley, president of South Dakota State Federation of Labor AFL-CIO: "Our low-income working families are struggling, with some spending up to 30% of their household income to feed their families. This inequality is unacceptable, and we stand ready to partner with TakeItBack to address this pressing issue."

Opposition

Opponents

Officials

• State Sen. Lee Schoenbeck (R)
• Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken

Arguments

• Nathan Sanderson, executive director of South Dakota Retailers Association: "Whether it's $123.9 million, which is the low end of the LRC estimate gave a year ago or $646 million, either way, we're talking about at least $100 million in lost revenue to the state of South Dakota with no plan for making it up. Our organization believes this is going to lead to significant cuts to education and health care. Or it's going to lead to higher tax increases, for things like property taxes which pays for education or a state income tax."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for South Dakota ballot measures

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recent scheduled reports that Ballotpedia has processed, which covered through December 31, 2024.

TakeItBack was the campaign registered in support of the initiative, while South Dakotans Against a State Income Tax was the campaign registered to oppose the initiative.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$251,597.05	$0.00	$251,597.05	$230,164.39	$230,164.39
Oppose	$224,884.91	$36,700.00	$261,584.91	$216,526.37	$253,226.37
Total	$476,481.96	$36,700.00	$513,181.96	$446,690.76	$483,390.76

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the measure.

Committees in support of Initiated Measure 28
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
TakeItBack	$251,597.05	$0.00	$251,597.05	$230,164.39	$230,164.39
Total	$251,597.05	$0.00	$251,597.05	$230,164.39	$230,164.39

Oppose

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the measure.

Committees in support of Initiated Measure 28
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
South Dakotans Against a State Income Tax	$224,884.91	$36,700.00	$261,584.91	$216,526.37	$253,226.37
Total	$224,884.91	$36,700.00	$261,584.91	$216,526.37	$253,226.37

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Polls

See also: 2024 ballot measure polls

Are you aware of a poll on this ballot measure that should be included below? You can share ballot measure polls, along with source links, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

South Dakota Initiated Measure 28, Prohibit Food and Grocery Taxes Initiative (2024)
Poll	Dates	Sample size	Margin of error	Support	Oppose	Undecided

South Dakota News Watch	10/12/24-10/26/24	500 RV	± 3.3%	49%	45%	6%
	Question: "How will you vote on grocery tax repeal?"

Emerson College Polling/KELO-TV/The Hill	10/19/24-10/22/24	825 LV	± 3.3%	36.2%	48.3%	15.5%
	Question: "Would you vote yes or no on South Dakota Initiated Measure 28, An Initiated Measure Prohibiting Taxes on Anything Sold for Human Consumption? A yes vote would prohibits the State from collecting sales or use tax on anything sold for human consumption. A no vote would leave the South Dakota law as is."

South Dakota News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy at USD	5/10/24-5/13/24	500 RV	± 4.5%	66.4%	26.4%	7.2%
	Question: "Do you support the grocery tax appeal?"

Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters.

Background

Grocery tax in South Dakota

As of 2024, South Dakota had a 4.2% sales and use tax. This state sales and use tax applied to the sale or purchase of taxable products and services in the state. Municipalities were also able to establish an additional 2% tax. Previously, the sales and use tax was 4.5%, but was lowered when the state legislature approved a temporary reduced sales tax for four years on March 9, 2023. The House voted unanimously to approve the sales tax cut, and the Senate approved it 31-2.

Statewide sales tax exemptions on groceries in other states

As of 2024, 45 states collected a statewide sales tax, and 13 states applied at least part of the tax to groceries. Of those 13, Mississippi and South Dakota applied the full tax to grocery sales. As of May 2024, Mississippi's statewide sales tax was 7% and South Dakota's was 4.2%. Thirty-two of the 45 states with a statewide sales tax exempted groceries from the statewide sales tax.

Statewide sales tax rates by state

On May 3, 1921, West Virginia became the first state to adopt a statewide sales tax. South Dakota imposed a statewide sales tax in 1933. Vermont was the most recent state to adopt a statewide sales tax in 1969.

Path to the ballot

Process in South Dakota

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in South Dakota

In South Dakota, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 5 percent of the votes cast for governor in the previous gubernatorial election. Signatures must be submitted by the first Tuesday of May during a general election year.

The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2024 ballot:

• Signatures: 17,509 valid signatures were required.
• Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was May 7, 2024.

Once the signatures have been gathered and filed, the secretary of state verifies the signatures using a random sample method.

Stages of this ballot initiative

• The South Dakota Secretary of State approved the initiative for circulation on April 25, 2023.
• On April 24, 2024, organizers submitted signatures to the secretary of state. According to Keloland, "Rick Weiland ... said that the petitions carried more than 25,000 signatures."
• On May 13, 2024, the secretary of state's office said they validated over 86.55% of signatures, and that 22,315 signatures were deemed valid.

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

2024 measures

• 2024 ballot measures
• Taxes on the ballot

South Dakota

• South Dakota ballot measures
• South Dakota ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Attorney General Statement (2024)