Governor signs what is described as big blow for third parties in South Dakota ballot access law

Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles

The new Ballot Access News post, “South Dakota Governor Signs Bill that Injures Ballot Access” by Richard Winger reveals the latest details below. The state is currently reeling from the collapse in world oil prices:

On March 20, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard signed SB 69, which injures ballot access for newly-qualifying parties and independent candidates. The bill had passed the legislature on a party-line vote, with Republicans supporting the bill and Democrats opposing it. The bill says members of qualified parties can no longer sign an independent candidate’s petition. No other state currently has such a requirement. Arizona passed this restriction in 1993, but it was declared unconstitutional in 1999.

The bill also moves the deadline for a newly-qualifying party from the last Tuesday in March to the first Tuesday in March. For 2016, the deadline moves from March 29 to March 1. South Dakota generally has harsh winters, and the bill requires a new party that is formed at the beginning of an election year to gather over 7,000 valid signatures in winter weather. The deadline for a new party was put into April in 1984, and in 2007 moved to late March.

Also, according to Bob Mercer of Black Hills Pioneer the law was highly controversial with Democratic lawmakers in the state and was passed without bipartisan support. The Black Hills Pioneer was established in 1976 and “covers every household in Lawrence, Meade, Butte and Harding counties in Western South Dakota, as well as Northeast Wyoming and Southeast Montana”:

The changes will make for greater difficulty for independent candidates, according to Sen. Bernie Hunhoff, D-Yankton. “We’re just asking for trouble,” he said. Hunhoff called it “just wrong” that it will be easier to resign from the Legislature than for a legislative candidate’s name to voluntarily be removed from the ballot.

That’s not how Sen. Alan Solano, R-Rapid City, sees it. “I think we have accomplished good things with this bill,” he said. Solano disagreed that it will be harder for independents to be candidates. He said independents would be on par with the requirements for Democratic and Republican candidates to gather signatures. The 26-7 vote in the Senate for SB 69 broke largely along party lines.

It passed with the support of every Republican senator present and one Democrat, Jim Bradford of Pine Ridge. The other seven Democratic senators voted against it. In the House, the vote also went mostly along party lines. All 50 yes votes came from Republicans. The no votes came from four Republicans and 11 Democrats. The bill now goes to Gov. Dennis Daugaard for his consideration.