South Dakota § 2-1-3.1 - Referred law--Petition--Finalization--Contents--Eligible sponsor--Circulator handout--Signatures and affidavit filing--Form.

§ 2-1-3.1. Referred law--Petition--Finalization--Contents--Eligible sponsor--Circulator handout--Signatures and affidavit filing--Form.

A petition sponsor shall file, in physical and electronic format, a petition to refer a law, as it is to be circulated, with the secretary of state before the petition may be circulated. The petition must:

(1)    Contain, in fourteen-point font, the title of the referred law;

(2)    Contain the effective date of the referred law in fourteen-point font;

(3)    Contain the date of the general election at which the referred law is to be submitted in fourteen-point font;

(4)    Be accompanied by a notarized form signed by each person who is a petition sponsor, which includes the names and addresses of each petition sponsor; and

(5)    Be accompanied by a statement of organization as provided in § 12-27-6.

The title required to be contained on a petition to refer a law, pursuant to subdivision (1), must be included on both sides of the sheet of paper on which the petition is printed. The title printed on the back side of the petition must be printed in at least sixteen-point font.

Only an individual who is registered as a voter of this state, pursuant to chapter 12-4, may be a petition sponsor for a petition to refer a law.

The petition circulator shall provide to each person who signs the petition a circulator handout containing the title of the referred law; the name, phone number, and email address of each petition sponsor; a statement whether the petition circulator is a volunteer or paid circulator and, if a paid circulator, the amount the circulator is being paid. The secretary of state must approve the circulator handout for each referred law before the petition is circulated.

The signatures on a petition to refer a law must be filed with the secretary of state within ninety days after the Legislature that passed the referred law adjourned sine die. A sworn affidavit, stating that the documents filed constitute the entire petition and, to the best knowledge of the sponsors, contain at least the number of valid signatures required by S.D. Const., Art. III § 1, must be signed by at least two-thirds of the petition sponsors and filed with the secretary of state, along with the petition signatures.

The State Board of Elections shall prescribe the form of the petition and affidavit.

Source: SL 2012, ch 18, § 1; SL 2016, ch 23, § 3; SL 2017, ch 16, § 9; SL 2018, ch 21, § 3; SL 2018, ch 22, § 5; SL 2019, ch 14, § 10, eff. July 1, 2020; SL 2020, ch 8, § 13; SL 2024, ch 16, § 4; SL 2025, ch 15, § 3; SL 2025, ch 17, § 3.