The Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan has this editorial, expressing happiness that South Dakota now has five qualified parties on the ballot. The editorial does not say, but it could have said, that this is the most number of qualified parties in South Dakota since 1914. Between 1939 and 1984, South Dakota required a petition of 10% of the last gubernatorial vote for a new party to get on the ballot. No group ever managed to cope with that requirement, which was held unconstitutional in a Libertarian Party lawsuit in 1984. After that lawsuit, the legislature lowered the petition to 2.5% of the last gubernatorial vote.

Parties that are not ballot-qualified in South Dakota still have the option to place their presidential nominees on the ballot with a petition of 1% of the last gubernatorial vote, due in August.