A new front opens over South Dakota ballot initiatives: withdrawing signatures from petitions

By JACK DURA
Associated Press

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has signed a bill allowing signers of ballot initiative petitions to revoke their signatures. Opponents decry the new law as a jab at direct democracy and an attempt to blunt a proposed abortion rights initiative. Noem signed the bill on Friday. The Republican-led Legislature overwhelmingly passed the bill by Republican Rep. Jon Hansen, who leads a group opposing the abortion rights initiative. Republican lawmakers have grumbled about South Dakota’s initiative process, including Medicaid expansion, which voters approved in 2022. Democrats tabbed Hansen’s bill as “changing the rules in the middle of the game,” and called it open to potential abuse.