2026 South Dakota Amendment L

2026 South Dakota Amendment L

November 3, 2026

60% Vote Requirement for Constitutional Amendments Measure

South Dakota Amendment L, officially the 60% Vote Requirement for Constitutional Amendments Measure, is an legislatively referred constitutional amendment that will appear on the ballot in the U.S. state of South Dakota on November 3, 2026, concurrent with the 2026 United States elections.

Background

House vote on HJR 5003
Jan 22, 2025	Party		Total votes
	Republican	Democratic
Yea	60	1	61
Nay	0	5	5
No vote	3	0	3
Result: Passed
Roll call vote [1] Representative Party District Vote Eric Emery D 26th–A Nay Jim Halverson R 21st Excused Erin Healy D 10th Nay Mellissa Heermann R 7th Excused Liz Marty May R 27th Excused Erik Muckey D 15th Nay Peri Pourier D 27th Yea Nicole Uhre-Balk D 32nd Nay Kadyn Wittman D 15th Nay All other votes are Republican yeas.

Senate vote on HJR 5003
Mar 10, 2025	Party		Total votes
	Republican	Democratic
Yea	29	0	29
Nay	2	2	4
No vote	1	1	2
Result: Passed
Roll call vote [2] Senator Party District Vote Red Dawn Foster D 27th Excused Liz Larson D 10th Nay Michael Rohl R 1st Excused Kyle Schoenfish R 19th Nay Jamie Smith D 10th Nay David Wheeler R 22nd Nay All other votes are Republican yeas.

Currently in South Dakota, constitutional amendments can be placed on the ballot by the South Dakota Legislature. Voters can approve or reject amendments if the amendment reaches 50% of votes cast. Amendment L was first placed on the ballot after it was approved by the legislature in early 2025. ^[3]

Impact

If approved by voters, the threshold that amendments must reach to be approved would be raised from 50% to 60%. ^[4]

Campaign

The Voter Defense Association of South Dakota launched a campaign against the amendment in May 2025. The president of the organization argued that raising the threshold would weaken the ballot initiative process. ^[5]

Endorsements

Yes

State legislators

• John Hughes, state representative from the 13th district (2025–present) (Republican) ^[3]

Organizations

• National Rifle Association ^[3]

References

1. "HJR 5003, House of Representatives, Do Pass Amended - 2025". South Dakota Legislature. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
2. "HJR 5003, Senate, Do Pass Amended - 2025". South Dakota Legislature. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
3. Huber, Makenzie (May 15, 2025). "Raising constitutional amendment vote threshold would backfire, says newly formed opposition group". South Dakota Searchlight. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
4. Green, Grant (May 15, 2025). "Voter Defense Association begins 2026 election campaign against Amendment L". Dakota News Now. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
5. Dominik, Dausch (May 15, 2025). "New Amendment L campaign enables 'low-minded' changes to SD Constitution, lawmaker says". Argus Leader. Retrieved September 25, 2025.