Eleven South Dakota legislators, all Republicans, have introduced SB 166. It would change the number of signatures for a statewide initiative from 5% of the last gubernatorial vote, to 5% of the number of registered voters. If enacted, this would almost double the number of signatures needed.
Wow, attacks against independent candidate petitions and initiative petitions in South Dakota. These legislators really don’t like people being able to “petition for a redress of grievances.”
If these actions by the Republicans in SD’s legislature do not result in a power shift in the next election, then I will have lost faith in the American voter. These are blatant attacks on the voters in SD and if they are too blind to see that the Republican Party is entrenching themselves into power, then they deserve the mess they get.
The Legislature wants the power to control. They would say that the legislature passes law not the citizen. Why have a legislature, deciding issues if citizens can bypass the process and introduce their own legislation.
David, that’s a good question. I am all for getting rid of the legislature and letting citizens introduce and vote on legislation. In the meantime, at least make it easier, not harder, to qualify initiatives and refereda, independent candidates and new/alt/smaller parties. Concentrating power is a bad thing; decentralizing it is a good thing.
“David
February 6, 2015 at 9:16 am
The Legislature wants the power to control. They would say that the legislature passes law not the citizen. Why have a legislature, deciding issues if citizens can bypass the process and introduce their own legislation.”
The initiative process was created by the South Dakota legislature. It serves as a check and balance against the power of the legislature.
Andy is right. South Dakota was the first U.S. state to implement the statewide initiative. South Dakota in the past has been very proud of that. Unfortunately the South Dakota state constitution doesn’t stop the legislature from passing this bill, because the Constitution contains the 5% figure but doesn’t say how to calculate 5% (in other words, it doesn’t say 5% of what, exactly).
Minority rule gerrymander TYRANTS at work.
1/2 votes x 1/2 gerrymander districts = 1/4 CONTROL.
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P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
States like Montana have this process and the legislature is always thinking of ways to make it more difficult to get issues on the ballot by petition. It used to be somewhere around 5% of the states registered voters and now it’s 5% in 34 legislative districts. Law makers hate to be questioned by the voters. When the legislature fails to act on an issue, the citizens should have the right to put the issue on the ballot.