South Dakota

South Dakota passed 11 laws restricting direct democracy between 2018 and 2024, more than any other state. Governor Larry Rhoden took office after Kristi Noem left to lead DHS. Voters approved Medicaid expansion in 2022, but the legislature immediately referred Amendment F to allow work requirements. Federal work requirements add another layer on top of that.

The state’s Republican supermajority is not satisfied with controlling the legislature. It is trying to control what voters can do without the legislature.

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Ballot power

South Dakota voters have used ballot measures to expand Medicaid and legalize marijuana. The legislature has responded by making it harder to use that power. In 2025 alone, lawmakers moved the petition deadline from May to February, proposed doubling signature requirements, and added address and county verification for petition signers.

Constitutional Amendment L on the November 2026 ballot would require a 60% supermajority to pass any constitutional amendment. The legislature can already repeal any initiated statute with a simple majority vote. Constitutional amendments are the only type of ballot measure the legislature cannot easily overturn. This measure would make the one tool voters have to protect their own decisions nearly impossible to use.

11 laws in 6 years South Dakota passed more ballot measure restrictions than any other state between 2018 and 2024

A citizen counter-proposal would prevent legislators from amending or repealing a voter-enacted ballot measure for seven years, except by a three-fourths vote of both chambers followed by a general election vote.

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Reproductive rights

South Dakota’s trigger ban, adopted in 2005, took effect after Dobbs. It prohibits all abortions except when “necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant female.” There are no exceptions for rape or incest. The exception is narrower than Mississippi or North Dakota.

Governor Rhoden signed three anti-abortion bills on March 20, 2026: HB 1274 criminalizes dispensing, distributing, selling, or advertising abortion pills as a class 6 felony. A second bill clarifies what constitutes an abortion under state law. A third requires public schools to show students videos about prenatal development.

HB 1274 was prompted by Mayday Health’s abortion pill advertising campaign in the state. A separate bill (HB 1212) that would have extended homicide penalties to abortion died in committee.

Rhoden also signed HB 1184 defining sex in state law and HB 1161 requiring facility use based on sex assigned at birth.

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Tribal sovereignty

The Oglala Sioux Tribe has filed three federal lawsuits since 2022 against the Interior Department over law enforcement funding on Pine Ridge Reservation. The BIA’s own standard calls for 128 officers. It funds 33. Those 33 officers cover 5,400 square miles and respond to 160,000 emergency calls per year.

The tribe requested $31 million for FY2025 law enforcement. The BIA offered $4.2 million — the same amount as the previous year, based on a funding formula from 1999. The tribe declared a “breakdown of law and order” state of emergency in 2023.

Pine Ridge policing	Numbers
Officers funded by BIA	33
Officers needed (BIA’s own standard)	128
Area covered	5,400 square miles
Emergency calls per year	160,000+
Tribe’s FY2025 request	$31 million
BIA’s offer	$4.2 million

Federal cuts went further. BIA offices in Sisseton, Fort Thompson, and Rapid City were slated for closure. Oglala Lakota College faces severe financial aid cuts under Trump’s proposed 75% reduction in tribal college funding.

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Public schools

South Dakota ranks 46th in teacher pay at $58,486 average. That is the state’s highest ranking since the NEA started tracking in 1943. Education funding increases have been modest: 4% in 2024, 1.25% in 2025, and 1.4% in 2026. Those increases may not keep pace with inflation.

South Dakota State University lost $86 million in federal livestock and bison research funding from DOGE cuts ($68.5 million of it unspent at the time). That is the highest per-student research grant loss from DOGE cuts in the state.

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2026 elections

The Republican governor’s primary is a four-way race with a 35% threshold to avoid a July 28 runoff. Emerson College polling shows Toby Doeden at 26%, U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson at 23%, and incumbent Larry Rhoden at 19%. No candidate reaches 35%, making a runoff likely.

The carbon pipeline fight shows what happens when conservative property-rights principles align with opposition to corporate power. South Dakota’s Republican legislature banned eminent domain for carbon pipelines. Summit Carbon Solutions’ $8.9 billion project rerouted entirely around the state. That same legislature is now trying to make it harder for voters to use ballot measures to exercise the same kind of power.

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Protect yourself right now

1. Check your voter registration. Confirm your status before the June 2 primary and November 3 general at the Secretary of State’s website.

2. Read Amendment L before you vote. It would require 60% to pass any constitutional amendment. Understand what that means for future ballot measures on Medicaid, marijuana, education, and property rights.

3. Track your Medicaid status. Voters approved expansion in 2022. The state added work requirements through Amendment F. Federal requirements add another layer starting 2027. Keep your information current with South Dakota DSS.

4. Contact your state legislators about teacher pay. South Dakota ranks 46th. Ask your representative what they plan to do. Find your legislator at sdlegislature.gov.

5. Follow the Pine Ridge policing fight. The BIA funds 33 officers for 5,400 square miles. The tribe has sued three times. Ask your federal representatives why treaty obligations are not being met.