South Dakota Supermajority Vote to Refer or Approve Constitutional Changes Amendment (2018)
| South Dakota Supermajority Vote to Refer or Approve Constitutional Changes Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Supermajority requirements | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The South Dakota Supermajority Vote to Refer or Approve Constitutional Changes Amendment was not on the ballot in South Dakota as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have increased the vote needed in the state legislature to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot from a simple majority of members to two-thirds of members.[1]
The measure would have also increased the vote needed at the ballot box to approve a constitutional amendment, whether legislatively referred or citizen initiated, from a simple majority to 60 percent.[1]
Text of measure
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article XXIII, South Dakota Constitution
The measure would have amended Sections 1 and 3 of Article XXIII of the South Dakota Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added and struck-through text would have been deleted:[1]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
§ 1. Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by initiative or by a majority two-thirds vote of all members of each house of the Legislature. An amendment proposed by initiative shall require a petition signed by qualified voters equal in number to at least ten percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the last gubernatorial election. The petition containing the text of the proposed amendment and the names and addresses of its sponsors shall be filed at least one year before the next general election at which the proposed amendment is submitted to the voters. A proposed amendment may amend one or more articles and related subject matter in other articles as necessary to accomplish the objectives of the amendment.
Section 3 of Article XXIII
§ 3. Any constitutional amendment or revision must be submitted to the voters and shall become a part of the Constitution only when approved by a majority at least sixty percent of the votes cast thereon. The Legislature may provide for the withdrawal by its sponsors of an initiated amendment at any time prior to its submission to the voters.[2]
Support
Supporters
The following legislators sponsored the amendment in the legislature:[3]
- Sen. John Wiik (R-4)
- Sen. Ernie Otten Jr. (R-6)
- Sen. Jim Stalzer (R-11)
- Sen. James Bolin (R-16)
- Sen. Joshua Klumb (R-20)
- Sen. Jeff Monroe (R-24)
- Rep. Steven Haugaard (R-10)
- Rep. Larry P. Zikmund (R-14)
- Rep. Kevin Jensen (R-16)
- Rep. Tona Rozum (R-20)
- Rep. Tom Pischke (R-25)
- Rep. Thomas Brunner (R-29)
- Rep. Craig Tieszen (R-34)
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the South Dakota Constitution
In South Dakota, a constitutional amendment must be passed by a simple majority vote in each house of the state legislature during one legislative session.
The measure was introduced into the legislature as Senate Joint Resolution 2 (SJR 2) on January 26, 2017. The Senate approved the amendment, 19 to 15, on February 15, 2017. One member was excused from voting. The House State Affairs Committee voted 13 to 0 to table SJR 2 on February 24, 2017. The bill was not reconsidered during the 2017 session.[3]
The 2017 legislative session was expected to run from January 10, 2017, through March 27, 2017.
Senate vote
February 15, 2017[4]
| South Dakota SJR 2 Senate Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 19 | 55.88% | ||
| No | 15 | 44.12% | ||
| Partisan breakdown of Senate votes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party Affiliation | Yes | No | Excused | Total |
| Democrat | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Republican | 19 | 9 | 1 | 29 |
| Total | 19 | 15 | 1 | 35 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 South Dakota Legislature, "Senate Joint Resolution 2," accessed February 16, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 South Dakota Legislature, "SJR 2 Overview," accessed February 16, 2017
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs nameddigest
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