The following is a list of statewide initiatives and referendums modifying state law and proposing state constitutional amendments in South Dakota, sorted by election.
2000s
2000 Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment AA constitutional amendment relating to the classification of property for purposes of taxation.167,117 (54.94%)137,081 (45.06%)Amendment BAn constitutional amendment authorizing local initiatives to provide for the cooperation and organization of local government.165,346 (55.28%)133,780 (44.72%)Amendment CAn initiated constitutional amendment repealing the state inheritance tax and prohibiting the legislature from imposing an inheritance tax.251,316 (80.13%)62,334 (19.87%)Amendment DAn initiated constitutional amendment repealing the video lottery.146,428 (46.33%)169,642 (53.67%)Amendment EAn constitutional amendment permitting the investment of permanent school funds in certain stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other financial instruments and to use a certain portion of the interest and income to increase the principal in the fund.168,896 (56.10%)132,181 (43.90%)Initiated Measure 1An initiative raising the maximum bet limits for limited card games and slot machines authorized within the city of Deadwood.161,249 (51.60%)151,244 (48.40%)
2001 Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment AA constitutional amendment authorizing the creation and administration of a trust fund for the proceeds of the sale of the state cement plant.69,309 (78.79%)18,657 (21.21%)Amendment BAn constitutional amendment authorizing the creation and administration of trust funds for health care and education.63,484 (72.50%)24,086 (27.50%)
2002
June 2002 Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment AA constitutional amendment repealing 1998 Amendment E, which prohibited corporate farming.83,320 (46.01%)97,755 (53.99%)
November 2002 Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment AA constitutional amendment relating to the rights of a criminal defendant.68,659 (21.81%)246,097 (78.19%)Amendment BA constitutional amendment clarifying the responsibility of the legislature to provide for its own apportionment.103,172 (30.97%)229,985 (69.03%)Amendment CA constitutional amendment extending the time allowed for the governor’s review of legislation passed by the legislature.166,969 (54.16%)141,326 (45.84%)Initiated Measure 1An initiative legalizing the cultivation, possession, and sale of industrial hemp with less than 1% THC.119,990 (37.97%)196,060 (62.03%)
2004 Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment AA constitutional amendment providing for the merit selection of circuit court judges.138,368 (37.81%)227,577 (62.19%)Amendment BA constitutional amendment authorizing food and transportation services for all school-age children.173,650 (46.99%)195,936 (53.01%)Initiated Measure 1An initiative exempting food from sales and use taxes.123,210 (32.50%)255,855 (67.50%)
2006 Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment CA constitutional amendment only recognizing marriages between a man and a woman and prohibiting civil unions between two or more people regardless of sex.172,305 (51.83%)160,152 (48.17%)Amendment DA constitutional amendment relating to real property assessment for taxation.65,903 (20.20%)260,375 (79.80%)Amendment EA constitutional amendment relating to judicial decisions.35,641 (10.79%)294,734 (89.21%)Amendment FA constitutional amendment relating to the legislature.103,026 (32.35%)215,458 (67.65%)Initiated Measure 2An initiative increasing the tax on cigarettes and tobacco products.202,779 (60.80%)130,757 (39.20%)Initiated Measure 3An initiative prohibiting the start of a school term prior to August 31.140,487 (43.14%)185,129 (56.86%)Initiated Measure 4An initiative allowing qualified individuals to access medical marijuana.157,953 (47.70%)173,178 (52.30%)Initiated Measure 5An initiative requiring placing certain restrictions on the use of state owned or leased aircraft.180,592 (55.36%)145,594 (44.64%)Initiated Measure 7An initiative prohibiting video lotteries.110,032 (33.05%)222,889 (66.95%)Initiated Measure 8An initiative repealing the gross receipts tax on wireless telecommunication services.129,851 (39.38%)199,892 (60.62%)Referred Law 6A referendum prohibiting abortion except when the mother's life is at risk.148,648 (44.43%)185,945 (55.57%)
2008 Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment GA constitutional amendment repealing certain reimbursement restrictions for legislators' travel to and form a legislative session.147,763 (41.14%)211,413 (58.86%)Amendment HA constitutional amendment repealing certain provisions relating to corporations.103,172 (30.97%)229,985 (69.03%)Amendment IA constitutional amendment providing for a maximum of forty legislative days each year.184,722 (52.41%)167,751 (47.59%)Amendment JA constitutional amendment eliminating term limits for legislators.87,380 (24.27%)272,635 (75.73%)Initiated Measure 9An initiative making certain securities practices and transactions unlawful.146,872 (43.39%)191,596 (56.61%)Initiated Measure 10An initiative prohibiting tax revenues from being used for lobbying or campaigning, governmental bodies from lobbying, government contractors from making campaign contributions, and government contracts when the contractor employs a legislator or legislative staff member and requiring contracts with governmental bodies to be published.127,040 (35.32%)232,684 (64.68%)Initiated Measure 11An initiative prohibiting abortions except in cases of rape or incest or when the mother's life or health is at risk.167,560 (44.79%)206,535 (55.21%)
2010s
2010 Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment KA constitutional amendment allowing individuals to vote by secret ballot.241,896 (79.13%)63,783 (20.87%)Amendment LA constitutional amendment authorizing a reduction in mandatory annual transfers from the cement plant trust fund to the state general fund.114,321 (40.55%)167,594 (59.45%)Initiated Measure 13An initiative legalizing the use and cultivation of marijuana for individuals with certain medical conditions.115,667 (36.69%)199,552 (63.31%)Referred Law 12A referendum prohibiting tobacco smoking in certain places.204,160 (64.37%)113,011 (35.63%)
2012 Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment MA constitutional amendment changing certain provisions relating to corporations.96,187 (29.6%)228,720 (70.4%)Amendment NA constitutional amendment repealing certain restrictions on the reimbursement of legislators for travel to and from a legislative session.125,715 (36.82%)215,675 (63.18%)Amendment OA constitutional amendment changing how much money is transferred from the cement plant trust fund to the state general fund each year.186,956 (56.76%)142,410 (43.24%)Amendment PA constitutional amendment requiring the state budget to be balanced.215,659 (64.6%)118,165 (35.4%)Initiated Measure 15An initiative increasing the sales tax by 1% to provide funding for public education and Medicaid.151,498 (43.27%)198,586 (56.73%)Referred Law 14A referendum establishing the large project development fund.139,751 (42.36%)190,126 (57.64%)Referred Law 16A referendum establishing a teacher scholarship program, creating a program for teacher merit bonuses, and eliminating requirements for teacher tenure.114,590 (32.77%)235,064 (67.23%)
2014 Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment QA constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to allow roulette, keno, and craps in Deadwood.152,265 (56.69%)116,326 (43.31%)Initiated Measure 17An initiative requiring health insurance companies to include all qualified healthcare providers on their provider lists.166,401 (61.81%)102,792 (38.19%)Initiated Measure 18An initiative raising the minimum wage to $8.50 and subsequently increasing it annually based on inflation.150,819 (55.05%)123,167 (44.95%)
2016 Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment RA constitutional amendment regarding post-secondary technical education institutions.178,209 (50.61%)173,945 (49.39%)Amendment SAn initiated constitutional amendment expanding the rights of crime victims.215,565 (59.61%)146,084 (40.39%)Amendment TAn initiated constitutional amendment establishing a commission for state legislative redistricting.149,942 (42.97%)198,982 (57.03%)Amendment UAn initiated constitutional amendment limiting the ability to set statutory interest rates for loans.130,627 (34.39%)224,876 (63.26%)Amendment VAn initiated constitutional amendment establishing nonpartisan elections.157,870 (44.51%)196,781 (55.49%)Initiated Measure 21An initiative capping interest rates at 36% on loans from certain lenders.270,312 (75.58%)87,355 (24.42%)Initiated Measure 22An initiative revising campaign finance and lobbying laws and creating a publicly funded campaign finance program and ethics commission.180,634 (51.63%)169,199 (48.37%)Initiated Measure 23An initiative giving corporate and nonprofit organizations the right to charge fees for services.71,250 (20.31%)279,482 (79.69%)Referred Law 19A referendum revising laws regarding elections and election petitions.98,657 (28.95%)242,113 (71.05%)Referred Law 20A referendum decreasing the minimum wage for workers under age 18.104,185 (28.87%)256,686 (71.13%)
2018
Primary Election Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment YA constitutional amendment changing certain provisions relating to the rights of crime victims.106,498 (79.51%)27,448 (20.49%)
General Election Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment WAn initiated constitutional amendment changing campaign finance and lobbying laws, creating a government accountability board, and changing certain initiative and referendum provisions.142,769 (45.06%)174,081 (54.94%)Amendment XA constitutional amendment requiring a 55% vote to approve future constitutional amendments.140,730 (45.68%)167,362 (54.32%)Amendment ZA constitutional amendment requiring proposed constitutional amendments to embrace only one subject.195,790 (62.41%)117,947 (37.59%)Initiated Measure 24An initiative prohibiting non-residents and out-of-state political committees from contributing to ballot question committees.174,960 (55.52%)140,172 (44.48%)Initiated Measure 25An initiative increasing the tobacco tax and creating a technical institute fund.148,775 (44.89%)182,654 (55.11%)
2020s
2020 Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment AAn initiated constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana for recreational use and requiring the legislature to pass laws regulating hemp and medical marijuana.225,260 (54.18%)190,477 (45.82%)Amendment BA constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to allow sports wagering in Deadwood.239,620 (58.47%)170,191 (41.53%)Initiated Measure 26An initiative legalizing marijuana for medical use.291,754 (69.92%)125,488 (30.08%)
2022
Primary Election Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment CA constitutional amendment requiring a three-fifths vote for ballot measures imposing taxes or fees.59,125 (32.57%)122,417 (67.43%)
General Election Measure nameDescriptionStatusYes votesNo votesAmendment DAn initiated constitutional amendment expanding Medicaid eligibility to individuals between 18 and 65 with incomes below 138% of the federal poverty level.192,057 (56.21%)149,616 (43.79%)Initiated Measure 27An initiative legalizing marijuana for recreational use.163,584 (47.08%)183,879 (52.92%)
2024