Background: Senate Joint Resolution 504 would ask voters in the 2026 to approve an amendment to the state constitution that would require signatures on a petition to initiate a constitutional amendment to be obtained from each county.
Our position: The ACLU of South Dakota opposes Senate Joint Resolution 504.
South Dakotans are well-versed in direct democracy. The state was the first in the nation to adopt an initiative and referendum process in 1898, giving citizens the power to propose and approve laws under which they live. In 1972, citizens were given the ability to petition for constitutional amendments to be added to the ballot.
Senate Joint Resolution 504 would ask voters to make it harder to initiate an amendment or measure. South Dakotans only use the citizen initiative process if the state legislature is not accountable to the voters. Our legislators should be doing everything they can to encourage people to participate in democracy, not try to thwart it.