Appeals Court Protects Longer Petitioning Time For South Dakota Ballot Questions

Federal appeals court protects longer petitioning time for South Dakota ballot questions

State immediately says it will seek full court review of three-judge panel’s decision

Weiland, Democracy Win Again: Eighth Circuit Panel Says February Initiative Deadline Violates First Amendment

Marty Jackley, Jon Hansen, and the state of South Dakota lose again in their effort to stifle direct democracy. Yesterday on a 2–1 decision, a panel of Eighth Circuit judges rejected a state appeal and affirmed South Dakota District Court Judge Camela C. Theeler’s September 2025 ruling that an early-February deadline for submitting initiative petitions is too darn early. Recall that plaintiff Rick Weiland and his ballot-question-advocacy group D…

Appeals Court Protects Longer Petitioning Time For South Dakota Ballot Questions

A South Dakota group won another victory Tuesday in its effort to preserve adequate time for petitioning questions onto statewide ballots, but a state official immediately pledged to continue the fight in court.

Appeals court affirms decision on House Bill 1184

The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms the District Court ruling that South Dakota House Bill 1184 violated the First Amendment by restricting the time citizens have to collect signatures for ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments.

Eighth Circuit, on 2-1 Vote, Strikes Down South Dakota 9-Month Preelection Deadline for Filing Citizen Petitions to Change Laws and Amend State Constitution

The case is Dakotans for Health v. Johnson. The post Eighth Circuit, on 2-1 Vote, Strikes Down South Dakota 9-Month Preelection Deadline for Filing Citizen Petitions to Change Laws and Amend State Constitution appeared first on Election Law Blog.

South Dakota loses appeal on deadline for constitutional amendments

A divided appeals court ruled Tuesday that South Dakota’s nine-month deadline for submitting petitions to amend the state Constitution violates the First Amendment.The 2-1 opinion effectively establishes a six-month deadline, in keeping with an earlier decision from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals that struck down a one-year deadline.The deadline of nine months was established by the South Dakota Legislature in 2025 following the earlier cou…